Frozen Love
by tie-dye-flag
Summary: A sequel to Of Machines and Familiars! Christmas is on it's way but Swaine and Esther haven't seen each other for five months. The world is suddenly entering an ice age, threatening the lives of everyone and the holidays. Can Swaine, Esther, and the others save the the world again in time for Christmas or will their feelings get in the way?
1. Chapter 1: Crash Landing

**AU: This story is a sequel to "Of Machines and Familiars". I suggest you read that first. This is a longer fanfic that takes place around Christmas time, about five months after OMaF.**

* * *

**Ch1: Crash Landing**

A landscape of smoky chimneys and metal buildings made up the scene of the industrial kingdom of Hamelin. Industry was in the air as usual, but a new spirit was in the atmosphere as well. Bright red and gold ribbons decorated the street lamps of the streets and wreaths of green and silver were hung proudly on almost every door. Lights dangled from the roofs, ready for the evening to show off their beautiful illuminations. These decorations didn't stop at just the city, however- their energy had infected the palace as well. The patrolling soldiers couldn't make three steps without seeing a lovely holiday decoration on their route. The spirit had spread to a certain door as well, which held up a simple wreath with just one little red bow on it. And the man that had reluctantly hung it up was behind that very door.

Behind the door was a good sized office with various shelves filled with gears and mechanical doo-dads. Screws, spare tools, motors, and pipes of all kinds were stored in rusty metal bins. At the end of the room was a large wooden desk covered with scattered machine pieces and blueprints. The rusty lamp cast its bold yellow light onto the desk, casting shadows behind the objects and a pair of wiry hands that were skillfully tinkering with a box-like contraption. The lamp also perfectly shaped out the man's black silhouette from behind. From the back the person was a hunched over shape of messy curls on top and a slab of dark green as a tired old trench coat hung off of the chair, hiding the rest of his lanky figure.

There was a knocking on the door. The shadow turned his head to the side, revealing his dark brown eyes as they glanced behind to the door.

"…Hang on, give me a sec'…"

With nimble hands, he placed the box that he was working on in a lower drawer along with a rolled up blueprint with drawings resembling the mystery box. He pulled out a key from his coat's pocket and locked the drawer, hiding his secret away.

"Alright, come in."

The man stood up from the chair, raising himself to his full height. He was a tall man with thin limbs and well worn clothes. As he faced the door, his stubble and angular face were visible.

The door opened and through it walked a younger man with long black hair and emerald eyes. Unlike the other man, this lad was finely dressed in regal garb and held a lovingly decorated staff. Marcassin, the emperor of Hamelin, had concern swirling in his emerald eyes.

"Swaine, how long have you been locked up in here?"

The older man shrugged his bony shoulders. "Beats me. Since I got here, I guess. Besides, the door wasn't locked."

Marcassin sighed and crossed his arms. "Did you at least stop to eat lunch?"

Swaine's eyebrows scrunched with confusion. "Huh? Wait, what time is it?"

He turned his head to a clock hanging on the wall. The face wore a thin layer of dust but the hands were still readable-half past seven in the evening.

"What? When did it get that late?"

Marcassin swayed his handsome head side to side. "Don't tell me you forgot to eat again…"

"Well-I just got absorbed in my work, I guess…"

"…What are you working on, exactly?"

"Um, nothing really, just tinkering around."

The Great Sage cocked his head to the side, knowing he was hiding something. "Swaine, you've been busy in your office for the past three weeks whenever you're not with the others making military weapons-what are you doing in here? I don't want you to starve and get sick because of some contraption."

Swaine scratched the back of his mess of brown hair. "Well-you see-it's just…" He rummaged around in his mind to find an excuse, but failed and sighed.

"…Alright, alright, I'll admit it…it's…a Christmas present for Esther."

Marcassin blinked. "A Christmas present…for Esther?"

"Yeah, and don't go getting the wrong idea-I know you saw that little 'incident' in the hospital room five months ago, but it was a prank by our familiars. This is just something for Christmas, nothing more. We're still just friends. Got it?" Swaine jabbed his finger towards the young Emperor's chest.

"O-okay, if you say so." He lowered his royal eyes, not able to make contact with his brother's.

Swaine continued as he grabbed his coat and slid his arms through the sleeves. "I didn't want my co-workers getting the wrong idea that I've got a girlfriend or anything, so I did it in secret here. It's already bad enough with the crazy-"

_Ka-bang! Bump-bump-klang! Ba-bang!_

The two men were interrupted as strange noises echoed through the palace halls.

"What the hell?"

"What on earth is going on out there?"

Swaine pulled out his trusty pistol from his coat. "Well, I guess there's just one way to find out."

They nodded to each other and ran out of the office. They jogged down the halls, trying to find the cause of the unusual racket. Guards ran about the place, shouting orders and marching with determination.

"Over here, it went this way!"

"Sir, wait, it's over here!"

"Come on men-after it!"

Swaine scanned his eyes around him as Marcassin's head surveyed the area.

"What the heck are they chasing, anyway?"

"They keep calling it 'it', so I'm assuming it's an unknown creature of some sort."

A soldier grunted and shouted, "Oof! Darn, I almost had it!"

"Don't just lay there, son-we've got to get that thing!"

"Hey, sir, it's going this way!"

Swaine and Marcassin turned around to the voice, praying that they would catch a glimpse of the mystery thing. What they saw took them aback.

"Oi, coming through, mun! It's a flipping emergency! "

Darting right towards them was an old Hamelin guard helmet. It had a pig snout on it and struggled to move. It hopped as if it was losing its balance and ran right into Swaine's shin.

"Yeowch! Dammit, dammit, dammit, that hurts!" The lanky man held his sore calf in his hands as he hopped angrily on one foot.

The helmet staggered to the side from the collision. "Oi, oi, oi, that was defiantly not tidy, mun…" The voice under the helmet was losing its balance along with the helmet. "Oi, woah, woah-oof!" With that, the heavy helmet turned over like a bowl, revealing the voice once underneath it.

Both men blinked with surprise and recognition at the sight.

"…Drippy?!"

The Lord High Lord of the Fairies turned his red lantern towards them. "Oi, there you are! Been looking all over for ya'!"

"What the hell are you doing here in the first place?" Swaine questioned the fairy as he ceased holding his leg.

"Never mind that, mun-Ollie's in trouble!"

The men were silent for a moment, letting the shocking information sink into their minds.

"What?" Marcassin remarked, "Oliver? What's wrong with him?"

"There's no time to explain, Marcy. Ollie-boy needs our help, snappy!" He hopped around and waved his hand for the men to follow him. "He's knocked out cold outside, and he's gonna freeze to death if we dun hurry! C'mon!"

* * *

"Brrr! You weren't kidding when you said it was cold out here!"

Swaine rubbed his hands over his arms to keep warm. Marcassin did the same as they fought the icy wind to follow the fairy. The air of Autumnia often got chilly during the winter, but this time the weather was nippier than usual. The cold air cut past the three like frost coated knifes, sending goose bumps up their bodies. Strong, cold gusts of wind slowed their pace with their icy strength.

"Drippy, how much further is it to Oliver?"

"Oi, not much, Marcy! Just over this hi-ah-ah-ahCHOO!"

"Gesundheit." Swaine rubbed his hands faster, trying to drive out the numbness.

The trio marched against the wind and up the hill. They were greeted by the sight of a shivering purple dragon curled protectively around the still form of a young man at the bottom of the hill.

"Oi! Ollie-boy!"

"Oliver! Tengri!"

The men and the fairy slid down the hill and stopped right next to the brown haired boy. Oliver, the thirteen year old wizard, was now an unconscious sixteen year old. Tengri trembled from the cold as his tail and left wing protected his former master from the cold the best he could.

Marcassin kneeled down to the ground and gently pried Tengri's wing from the body. The boy was covered in patches of dust and a few scratches, but nothing serious. He placed his well-manicured hand to one of Oliver's pressure points on his neck, praying that there was a pulse.

"….Thank the sages, he's still alive."

At that precise moment, Oliver's stone still face twisted and cracked his deep blue eyes open. He grunted as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings.

"…Ugh…Ow…" His blue eyes adjusted in the direction of the Hamelin emperor. "…Wait…P-Prince Marcassin? Is that you?"

"Oliver! Are you alright?"

The wizard slowly sat up, rubbing his sore arm. "Ow…I think so…I just feel really weak…What about Tengri?"

"Kyah, kah!" The purple winged reptile screeched with joy at the sight of Oliver gaining consciousness but then whimpered as he tried to move his right wing. Swaine walked over to Tengri's other side to find his wing bent the wrong way.

"Doesn't look so good, Oliver-his wing over here isn't in good shape."

Marcassin draped Oliver's arm over his shoulders and helped him to his feet. "Come on, we better get you two to a doctor and out of this cold." As Marcassin aided Oliver as they walked, Swaine and Drippy followed behind them with Tengri waddling along.

* * *

A bushy mustached doctor wrapped Oliver's bruises and cuts in white bandages as a short vet tended to Tengri's broken wing. The wizard sat on a wooden bench with Drippy besides him while Swaine and Marcassin sat on another bench next right next to Oliver's.

"So let me get this straight," Swaine uncrossed his arms, "You cast Gateway to come here, ended up in the Fairyground, met up with Drippy, used your old dragon horn to call Tengri, got caught up with the wind currents, and crash landed here."

"In a nutshell, yes."

"But what were you doing here?" Marcassin asked. "If we had known you were coming, we could have-"

"Oi, I can answer that, mun! Hoho!" Drippy jumped on top of Oliver's head with a mischievous grin. "See here, Ollie's been a little busy during these past three and almost half years."

"What do you mean by 'busy', exactly?"

"I'll give you a hint; remember Esther's soul mate?"

Swaine scratched his stubble, searching for that name in the library of his mind. "Hm…what was her name again? Mary or somethin'?"

Oliver sheepishly scratched his red-brown hair. "It's Myrtle."

"Right, right, Myrtle. So what does she-hold on a minute…" He gazed his brown eyes on Oliver's now blushing face and Drippy's nodding.

"That's right, mun! Ollie-boy here's got himself a girlfriend!"

Marcassin and Swaine's eyebrows shot up with surprise but the Lord High Lord of the Fairies wasn't done yet.

"Yep, crybaby-buntin' here's got a lady in his life now, and he came here to find something flipping special for her, see?" He bounced down and paced across the floor, nodding his lantern. "Mm-hmm, yep, there's beautiful when a lad goes out of his way to find his lady friend something special. Proper touching, no?"

Marcassin faced Oliver. "So what were you trying to find for her?"

"…A blizzard bloom." Oliver fiddled with the sleeve of his shirt. "Christmas is in a few weeks, and I figured a blizzard bloom would be a nice gift…"

"Hmm, so you managed to get yourself a girlfriend, eh?" Swaine jabbed his elbow gently at Marcassin's ribs. "Looks like mama's boy here has more luck with the ladies than pretty boy here. Haha!"

Marcassin held his arm with embarrassment. "Um, well…I-I've just been busy being the emperor and all…"

Oliver's eyebrows scrunched with confusion of his word choice. "Wait…did you say emperor? You're now _Emperor_ Marcassin?"

"Yes, but you can still call me Marcassin."

"Oka-"

Before he could continue, Tengri perked up his head with alert eyes. It was as if an invisible force had called out to him. The dragon attempted to get up on his back legs but stopped as a sharp pain shot out from his broken wing.

"K-kya! Kya, kya…" He whimpered with pain and brought his sad green eyes to the ground. Marcassin came over and helped the dragon lie back down as it weakly cried with longing.

Marcassin's eyebrows went skyward as a thought entered his mind. "…Esther…she must be trying to call Tengri to her with her horn."

"You mean Esther has been Tengri's master the past few years?" Oliver got up from his seat, crouched down, and patted the dragon's head comfortingly.

"Yes, but Tengri must of recognized your horn and came to you, his former master…But Tengri still responds to Esther's horn." Tengri casted his sad green eyes at the Hamelin ruler as he spoke. "…But I don't think he'll be able to fly back to her in his current condition…"

Oliver's eyes wavered as he searched through his brain before they flashed with an idea. "Wait-I can just teleport him to Al Mamoon with Travel and-"

"I don't think that's the wisest choice of action, Oliver," Marcassin cut him off. "Although casting Travel is a very convenient spell, it isn't always safe to participate in if you or someone else is severely injured."

"So how are we gonna get Scales here back to Little Miss Familiar Tamer?" Swaine jerked his thumb at Tengri, who responded with a low growl. Swaine backed away a few steps. "Whoa, easy boy-I was just teasing."

"So…how are we going to get Tengri home?" Oliver crossed his arms in front of his chest. Drippy did the same as he tilted his large nose to the side in thought.

"Hmm…this is a tough one…If we can't get there by air, and we can't get there by magic, then the only option we've got is…" He scratched a tiny hand on his noggin. "…Blimey, I can't see any flippin' way!"

A sharp snap suddenly cut through the air from Swaine's fingers. His brown eyes gleamed with an idea.

"Got it! By sea!"

"Oi?...Oh, now I get it! We just hop on a boat and sail our way to the Summerlands!"

"Well, then we'd better secure a boat for Castaway Cove first thing tomorrow." Marcassin stood up, "A trip there by ship can take up to a few weeks…"

"Awright then! Proper tidy, mun! That okay with you, Ollie-boy?" The fairy turned his lantern to the brown haired boy. Oliver buried his hands in his mop of hair.

"I'm not sure…If I'm away from Motorville too long, everyone there will get worried."

Marcassin placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder understandingly. "Its okay, Oliver. You can leave this to us. After all, you saved our world over three years ago-helping you with this is the least we can do."

"Well, okay. Thank you so much, pri-I mean, Marcassin! It really means a lot!"

"Oi, no problem, buntin'!" Drippy hopped about like a ball full of enthusiasm. "Just you wait-we'll get Tengri back home in no time and get youer girlfriend the biggest, brightest blizzard bloom you've ever laid youer flipping eyes on! Once you've got another chance to slip out, we can all travel for it together, just like old times! Oh-"He paused for a moment, "Ah, do you think you'll be able to come back here, Ollie-boy?"

"Um...I get out of school for Christmas break a week from today." He held a hand to his chin, looking downward. "I think I can come up with a good excuse to come here then."

"Splendid!" Marcassin chirped, "Oliver, stay here and rest until you're well enough to return to Motorville. I'm going to go and secure the fastest boat available to the Summerlands!" The emperor turned and briskly walked away before he called out, "Sleep well, everyone." and made his way from the palace.

* * *

The dusty clock quietly chimed six times in the dim light of the office. The lamp bravely shined its light on the desk next to a mug of black coffee as Swaine rummaged around the desk, putting tools and various nick-knacks into a simple messenger bag.

He pulled out the same dull key from before and unlocked the low drawer. It gave a quiet squeak as he pulled back the handle. His lithe fingers wrapped around the box shaped object from before and placed it gently on his desk. Upon close examination, the outside of the box was made of wood and filled with gears and strange mechanisms, like a clock. Swaine then placed a piece of matching wood and a pair of small brass hinges besides it. Finally he held up a rolled up blueprint, spreading it out between his hands. Elaborate images of the insides of the box decorated the paper. Scrawled to the side were tidbits of handwriting and arrows pointing to corresponding pictures of gears, motors, and screws.

As he stared at the paper, another sheet fluttered down from it. He scooped it up and gazed at it with a strange softness in his eyes. This page didn't have pictures on it, but music. Underneath each note in each line of music was a scribbling of numbers, like a code. Carefully folding it up with the blueprint he slipped it into the messenger bag's side pocket. After that followed the box, the piece of wood, and the hinges.

For a moment he was silent and still. His body gave out as he slumped into the chair and rested his head on his fist as his elbow leaned on the desk. The mechanic sighed, a faraway gleam glazing his eyes. Something complicated was running through his mind, but his train of thought was staggering along in a thick fog of emotions.

_Knock-knock_ "Swaine, are you there?"

"…Hm? Oh, yeah. I'll be out in a minute."

He stood up from the chair, swung the bag's strap over his shoulder, and curled his hand around the coffee cup's handle. Taking a sip from the bitter beverage he walked over to the door where his younger brother was waiting. When the mechanic opened the door, he saw Marcassin also holding a cup of coffee.

"Are you ready to depart?"

"_Yaaawwn_… Refresh my memory on why we have to go so freakin' early."

"I'm sorry, Swaine, but we need the fastest ship to the Summerlands, and the Sea Cow is setting sail there in just a couple of hours."

The older man rubbed the sleep from his eyes the best he could with his free hand. "Hmph…It won't help that Lord High Lord of All Things Annoying is commin' with us, too…"

The sage swallowed some of his coffee. "I'm sure it'll fly by. Besides, we'll be traveling together again…like old times."

"Mm-hmm…" Swaine mumbled sleepily as the duo walked down the hall from the office. They walked in silence for a few moments as the younger man eyed his older brother's zombie-like movements in between gulps of coffee.

"…Swaine?"

"Mm?" The man began to swallow some more of the black liquid.

"…Are you sure you don't have any feelings for Esther?"

_PFFFFFFFFT!_ The mechanic spat out his drink with wide eyes. He faced the sage as a faint blush rose to his face.

"W-What the hell do ya' mean by THAT?! She's just friend, nothing more!"

"Um…well-it's just…I-I was just curious. Yes, just curious…" Marcassin took a nervous sip from his mug and looked away.

"Well, I answered your question-ya' satisfied now?"

"…Almost. I've been wondering what you've been making in your office."

"I told ya'-it's a Christmas present for babana girl."

"No, I mean what _exactly _you are making for her. I suspect it's some sort of mechanism, at least…"

Swaine's hand instinctively went to his messenger bag. "It's nothing big or fancy…but I kinda want to keep it a secret."

"You mean a surprise?"

"Call it what you like." The lanky man shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, how long is this little trip gonna last?"

"Two weeks, at least."

Swaine nearly spat out his coffee again. "…Great; I'm going to have to put up with that stupid fairy and the possibility of getting soaked to the skin in a storm for two whole weeks."

Marcassin placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "I'm sure everything will turn out alright in the end."

The ex-thief made eye contact with the shorter man's green orbs. His eyes held a reassuring gleam with a slightly optimistic smile. Swaine's face reflected a smirk with eyes that had softened just a bit.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road and over with." He took one final swig at his coffee and emptied its contents.

"Heh, if Esther was here, she'd probably nag at you for being so pessimistic."

"You want me to noogie you into next week or what?"

Marcassin suddenly grew very fearful. "Oh-um, no, no that won't be necessary, really."

The mechanic smirked. "Didn't think so."

The men had reached the entrance and exit of the palace. They continued to walk on, leaving behind only the echo of the clunks of their shoes on the pavement, until those echoes faded away in the air.


	2. Chapter 2: The Deepening Cold

**AN****: I put in a little reference to Black Butler. I dare you to find it :3**

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**Ch2. The Deepening Cold**

The wood and body of The Sea Cow creaked and moaned as if it was alive and breathing. These sounds, however, failed to awaken the sleeping, snoring figure of Swaine as his head was down on the nailed down table with a screwdriver in his limp hand. In front of him was the box he had been working on but now with a lid attached by brass hinges. The blueprint was directly under the box, but not his head-thank the sages, for if it was, his drool would have transformed the paper into a soggy mess overnight.

"Oi! You awake, Swaine! C'mon, mun, we're almost there!"

The man responded with a sleepy mumble, something along the lines of, "Five more minutes…"

"Wake up, mun! Don't be a slow poke! We'll be on dry land before you know it!"

"Mmph…whatever."

Drippy sighed before he began to bounce loudly against the door. "Oi!-_**bang**_-It's-_**bang**_-time-_**bang**__-_to_-__**bang**_-rise_-__**bang**__-_and shine!"

Reluctantly, Swaine's sleepy head rose slightly with eyes half open. "Mmph…alright, alright, I'm up. Give me a minute…" At a snail's pace, he got up from the chair and groggily hid the box, blueprint, and tools into his bag. He zombie walked to the door to open it with a yawn.

"What time is it, anyway?"

"Time for you to get up, mun!" The fairy spun in a circle happily.

The man merely rubbed his tired eyes. "I swear, one of these days I'm going to shoot you and make it look like an accident."

"Oi, quit youer yackin', will ya? I'm too lovable to be sho-"

Drippy was cut off as the lanky man walked away without sparing another glace at him.

"Eh? Hey, can't you at least muster a 'top of the mornin', mun' ?"

"Later. I need some coffee."

The man's lithe fingers wrapped around the handle of the door leading to the main deck of the ship. The moment he opened the door his entire body was embraced by a cold breeze. His coat fluttered behind him as the freezing wind whistled past.

"Brrrr! Damn, it's cold!"

Holding his arms with his hands, he walked out into the icy air with Drippy shivering behind him. The crew of the ship hung around with shivering bodies and numb skin. Burly sailors rubbed their hands together furiously while others warmed their fingers with their breath. Even Captain Sindbah suffered from Mother Nature's drop in temperature as he wiped his dripping nose with the back of his tattooed arm.

Swaine suspiciously eyed his surroundings and walked over to the rail facing the sea. He could barely make out the shadow of Castaway Cove.

"…This isn't right…"

"Oi? You say somethin', mun?" Drippy jumped onto the rail and gazed out in the same direction.

"We're almost at Castaway Cove, yet it's freezing here."

"Blimey, you can say that again…My flipping lantern feels like it's gonna freeze!"

The mechanic slapped his face. "That's not the point, idiot."

"Oi? So what's the point then?"

"Castaway Cove is supposed to be warm and tropical year round. Even in the winter or at nighttime, it's not supposed to get _this_ cold."

The fairy raised an eyebrow, suddenly understanding the issue. "Oi, I didn't think of that…"

"Ah…ah…AH-CHOO!"

The man and the fairy turned around to Oliver scratching his nose with his sleeve and Marcassin holding two mugs of black coffee.

"Good morning, everyone…_sniff_."

"You all tidy, Ollie?"

"Uh-huh. Did you guys sleep well?"

Oliver suddenly noticed while his fairy friend nodded energetically, Swaine gave a half-hearted smirk with faint, dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he had been up all last night on an all-nighter.

Pretending not to notice the dark bags under his eyes, Marcassin handed Swaine one of the cups of coffee. "Well, we'll be entering the ports of Castaway Cove soon. We'd better gather our things and prepare to disembark the ship."

Swaine took a sip from the coffee and nearly spat it out. It was terribly lukewarm and left an undesired aftertaste. It was a miracle he had been able to survive on this for the past two weeks.

And there was just one week to go until it was Christmas. And the gift wasn't done yet…

"Swaine? Swaine, are you alright?"

The mechanic blinked his way from his thoughts. "Huh?"

"Are you okay?" Oliver looked up to him. "You looked kind of distracted for a minute."

"Oh? Nah, I'm fine." Swaine raised his hand nonchalantly and began to walk back towards the inside of The Sea Cow. "Anyway, I'm going back inside. Just holler when we reach land." Leaving behind the sound of the wood squeaking against his shoes, the man vanished back into the depths of the ships.

He entered the room where he had slept in for the past two weeks. It was a spare crew hold room with a couple of hammocks and a table nailed to the floorboards. Swaine had luckily scored himself a room just for himself and a table to work on.

Moving over to the very table, he opened his bag to examine the box. From the outside it looked like a simple wooden jewelry box. The man stared at the lid, remembering the contents of the container. He placed a calloused hand on the lid lightly.

_It's been a long time I've actually made something for someone I personally know. Before I was just messing with machine parts to make things for the city just because it's my job…and before that I was just making things to benefit me with my life on the streets, like my pistol…_

_ …I wonder if she'll like it…or believe me when if I tell her I made it with my own two hands…just for her…_

He shook his head vigorously to clear his head. _Great, I'm starting to sound like a love-struck fool._

His ears suddenly picked up the shouts of sailors outside, yelling commands to steer the ship into harbor and lower the anchor. He slung the bag over his shoulder, placed the gift back into the bag, and left the room without a trace.

* * *

The air's stiff coldness surrounded Oliver and the others like a thick blanket that had been sitting in an ice box for a long time. Tengri waddled forward the best he could but struggled to do so as he felt his cold blooded body grow sluggish from the temperature. His large clawed feet slowly dragged themselves through the sand of The Shimmering Sands.

"It's okay, boy. We're almost there." Marcassin encouraged the dragon with comforting strokes of his hand along his scaly neck.

Up ahead, Oliver and Swaine marched along the sand with their shoes sinking into the golden ground.

"Hey, Swaine, it isn't supposed to be this cold out here, is it?"

"If it was night time, then maybe." Swaine looked skywards to the blanket of grey that covered the normally clear sky of The Shimmering Sands. "But it's hard to tell time with this stupid overcast."

"…I don't know why, but I've got a bad feeling about those clouds." Oliver looked over his shoulder in the direction of Castaway Cove. "And I can't shake the feeling that there's something strange about this cold."

Swaine's eyes grew distant as he remembered strolling through the village a few hours earlier-everyone was either huddled by a fire or wrapped in multiple towels and blankets. Every citizen of Castaway Cove was doing everything they could to keep warm in the unusual weather. The village that once sported happy children running around the docks in bathing suits and fishing adults had transformed into a ghost town-like state. It was so serious that the mayor had decided to temporarily disable the law of having to wear a swim suit for the sake of his people. Not even the colorful, tropical themed Christmas decorations of the homes could lift the mood of the cold town.

"Hey, guys, I see Al Mamoon! It's just up ahead!" Swaine was brought back to earth at Oliver's shouting from atop a sand dune. The tall man came up and saw the fair city of the desert.

The city where Esther was…

"Oi, tidy!" Drippy bounced up and rolled his way down the dune. "Well, dun just stand there, slow pokes-let's leg it!"

Tengri perked up at the very sight of his home. He excitedly screeched and picked up his pace. Marcassin had to jog to keep up with him as the dragon walked besides Oliver and Drippy. Swaine stayed in the rear of the party with a steady walk.

"Kyah! Kya! Ky-ah?"

The winged animal suddenly stopped dead in his tracks a few meters before the city's entrance as his green eyes detected something tiny and white falling onto his snout.

"Huh? Something the matter, Tengri?" Oliver asked before he felt something cold, fluffy, and wet fall onto his nose-and then saw another one fall on Marcassin's shoulder.

"Huh? What's this…?" Swaine held out his hands to let the white flakes land on his hands. They melted into droplets of water when they made contact with his skin.

"…What the…S-Snow? But we're in the middle of the desert!"

"What the flip? Wait…oh no, don't tell me it's the Manna again!" Drippy hid behind Oliver's legs for protection.

The porcine emperor rubbed the substance between his hands. "Hmm…No, this is defiantly not Manna. I think it's safe to say it's snow."

The fairy exhaled with relief. "That's good. But Swainey has a point-we're in the flipping desert! How the flip do you explain snow in a desert?"

"That's what I want to know." The four looked upwards as if expecting an explanation to the bizarre weather from above. All they saw was a slab of grey sprinkled with pale snowflakes.

As they entered Al Mamoon, the merchants had puzzlement coating their faces as they observed the white flaky stuff fall from the sky. They looked up at the grey sky as well while young children bravely walked out into the streets to let the mystery powder fall on their bodies.

"Whoa! Mommy, what is this stuff?" A young child held his tiny hands out at the icy flakes. A woman, presumably his mother, stared at the white flakes, not knowing what to say.

"Wow, this stuff is cold!"

"Yeah, and wet!"

"It's so pretty!"

The Mamoonian youth were star struck with amazement at the never-before seen flakes. Among the excited children was a young lady staring heavenwards with dreamy blue eyes. Her blonde hair fell past her shoulders in a golden wave and wore a cute pink cape attached at the back of her purple skirt. She held out her tongue in the chilly air.

The children stared curiously at this. "Hey, Miss Esther, what are you doing?"

"Catching snowflakes!"

"Snow…flakes?"

"Yep! This cold white stuff is called snow! And it's fun to catch the snowflakes on your tongue!"

The kids gazed at the falling substance and stuck out their tongues as well, giggling at the chilly touch of the snow on their red tongues.

"See? It's fun-"

The blonde suddenly grew silent as her eyes fell on the three men and fairy standing at the entrance of the city with her beloved dragon. Her eyes widened with recognition of the lanky mechanic and the handsome emperor. Her blue orbs shrunk even further as they took in the sight of a vaguely familiar sixteen year old boy with a mop of red-brown hair and dark blue eyes. Her delicate hand came up over her mouth.

"…O-Ol…Oliver…?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

The boy nodded with the gleam of recognition in his eyes. "H-hi, Esther."

After a moment of silence the lady ran up without warning and bear hugged the boy-and sending them both into Swaine, who somehow managed to catch them before hitting the now snow sprinkled ground.

"Oliver! It's so good to see you again!"

"Yeah, you too, Esther!"

"Ahem." Swaine cleared his throat. "What are the rest of us, chopped liver?"

The boy and woman stood back up. Tengri, overfilled with joy, cried out and nuzzled his face next to her body affectionately.

"Haha, hey Tengri! Oh, I was so worried about you! Ooh, aren't you a good boy? Oh, you're such a sweetie, aren't you?" The tamer squealed and gushed with delight over her precious dragon. "Ooh, yes you are-Oh my god, Tengri, what happened to your wing?" She examined the dragon's wing that was wrapped in thick bandages.

"Uh…About that…" Drippy stared at the ground. "It's a bit of a long story…"

"Oh, you poor thing!" Esther was still stroking Tengri's neck. "It's going to be okay…It'll be okay, boy." Her caring eyes ran over the shivering figure of the purple dragon. The dragon chirped in agreement, suffering from the cold. She paused and looked at the others.

"Come on, my father's babana stall isn't far from here-we can talk there. We need to get out of this cold."

* * *

In a room lit by a roaring fire, Esther, Oliver, and Rashaad sat by Tengri as they used healing magic to tend to Tengri's broken wing. A wooden door leading to the actual inside of the Al Mamoon home that was slightly ajar echoed with the voices of the deadpan Swaine and an embarrassed Marcassin.

"You're one of the Great Sages, one of the best at magic in the world, and it never occurred to you to use Healing Rush or some other healing spell on Tengri."

Marcassin held his head down with shame. "I-I'm sorry, it completely slipped my mind to try my magic…"

"Ugh…Sometimes I worry about you, Marcassin. We could have skipped that bloody boat trip and the stupid cold!"

"Speaking of cold…" Drippy crossed his tiny arms and stood up on a coffee table. "I've got a weird feeling about this cold in my lantern. I mean, snow in the middle of the desert? How do you explain _that_?"

At that moment, Oliver and Rashaad emerged from the spare room that served as Tengri's 'stable'.

"Oi, Ollie-boy! Rashaad! Is Tengri all tidy?"

"His wing is almost fully healed. He should be able to fly by morning." Rashaad turned back towards the now open door, at his daughter. "As long as he gets some sleep tonight and stays warm, he'll be fine."

Swaine gazed into the stable as Esther caught his eye. She was kneeled by Tengri's body and gently patting his scaly skin. Her whispers were unable to be deciphered by the man's ears, but her tone was soft and sweet, like candy. The fire casted lovely shadows and warm lights on the woman's figure. Her golden hair shone beautifully, falling down her upper back.

Swaine, not paying any attention to the talking men behind him, took a few steps into the stable. "Yo, babana girl, how's Scales doin'?"

Before Tengri was purring, but now he hissed as he protectively brought his long tail to his other side, by his master. The man backed up a half step with raised hands.

"Whoa, easy boy. I didn't mean anything by it." He cautiously took a few more steps and bent towards Esther. "So what's up, Esther?"

"Oh, nothing new, except for the fact that it snowed here!" Esther's blue eyes shone excitedly. "It's been so long since I've last seen snow-and now it's snowing right in my hometown!"

The man chuckled. "Still as enthusiastic as always, eh?"

"Guess so." She looked at the mechanic. He still wore his shabby clothes and rundown shoes from three and a half years ago. His hair was still out of control and had faint circles under his eyes with his trademark stubble on his chin. He looked like the mechanic that she had crossed paths with just five months ago.

The mechanic she had kissed five months ago…

A sudden blush rose to her cheeks. She turned her head away and held her hands to her face with hope that her fingers would hide the pink blossoming on her cheeks.

"Hm? You okay?"

"Y-Yeah, just fine!"

Swaine shrugged his thin shoulders. "If you say so, babana gir-YEOWCH!"

* * *

"So what do you think is the cause behind this cold?"

"My guess is as good as yours, Rashaad. I haven't the foggiest idea."

Marcassin held his chin while Rashaad scratched his black beard. Oliver's hand rummaged through his hair with distant eyes.

"I don't get it-how is it even possible to make it snow in the desert? Can magic even do something like that, changing the weather?"

"It can sometimes, but usually on a much smaller scale, and even that is a difficult task." The emperor paced back and forth. "But I'm starting to believe that we're dealing with something else, something much more powerful. Not only is it snowing here, but it was freezing back in Castaway Cove, and unusually chilly in Autumnia. It's as though we're entering an ice age."

"If that's the case, then what about the other parts of the world, like Ding Dong Dell or The Fairygrounds? Are they being affected by the cold too?"

"It's hard to tell without going there and seeing for ourselves, but with the pattern we've seen so far, I'd say it's plausible…"

_Chomp!_ "YEOWCH!"

The men were interrupted when Swaine's pained yell reached their ears along with some other protests.

"Damn it! Let go, you stupid dragon!"

"Grr!"

"Let go of it and give it back! Come on!"

"Grrrrrr!"

"Damn it, drop it already! I was just teasing! Sheesh!"

After a few more growls and cursing, the thin man marched out of the stable and slammed the door with his back to the wall. His face was red with anger and embarrassment, but he managed to take a deep breath to calm down a bit.

"…You guys wouldn't happen to have a spool of thread and a needle I could borrow, would you?"

"I believe so…" Rashaad walked over to a hutch and rummaged in one of the upper drawers. His large hand pulled out a sharp sewing needle and some black thread.

"What do you need to sew?"

Swaine snatched the sewing materials with his lithe fingers. "Don't ask."

When he turned and walked down to the hallway bathroom, the reason was obvious-in his other hand was a torn piece of blue fabric and a chomped out hole in the back of his pants, where the torn piece was just a few moments ago.

Before the men could fully crack up at the sight of his faded boxers, Swaine turned around with extra-sharp daggers in his dark eyes.

"No one says a word, and no one gets hurt. Capisce?"

With that, the man disappeared into the bathroom with a slam of the door.

* * *

Swaine's skilled hands pulled the needle and thread along the seat of his pants as he sat on a toilet in his old underwear. He grumbled lowly under his breath in between stitches.

After a few more dozen stitches, his trusted pants were as good as new-well, as good as they were before Tengri decided to snap his mouth on his behind. Luckily the dragon had only managed to tear off his pants and not his boxers. Now _that_ would have been humiliating. He still remembered when Esther too busy laughing her head off to help him pry the cloth from her dragon's mouth at the time.

"Honestly, does she like seeing me suffer like this?" He stood up and felt the slightly chilly air surround his bare legs. Shivering, he pulled his pants back on. At least he wasn't as cold now.

As he pulled up the fly, his ears caught the voices of Oliver and Marcassin outside the bathroom.

"…So what do you think we should do?"

"I think we should check on the other parts of the world. Ding Dong Dell is just north of here and not that far by air, so I suggest we should start there."

"Okay… But how will Tengri handle the cold? I know we've flown him to Yule before, but he didn't stay there for long. I don't want him to get sick…"

"I think I may have a solution for that…Rashaad and I know an alchemy recipe to make a magic stone that always radiates heat. If we attach that to his collar, then he should be able to stay warm."

"Wow, neato! So when do we leave? First thing tomorrow morning?"

"First thing in the morning."

Swaine smacked a hand on his head-things were about to get even busier, and he wasn't a morning person.

And the box wasn't done yet…

"…Oliver, are you sure with this?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Going out of you way to help us. You came here to find Myrtle a blizzard bloom for Christmas, and that's almost five days from now…"

"Oh…Well, don't worry, I'm okay with it, really! After all, Esther's coming with us too! We'll be all together again. If we can defeat the Zodiarchy like back then together, then we can put a stop to this in no time! I just know we can do it and still have enough time to get a blizzard bloom!"

Swaine's eyebrows shot up at this; Esther was traveling with them? Conflicting feelings suddenly began to stir within him.

_"Oh great-if Esther's going with us, then how am I gonna keep the gift a secret from her?! I still need to finish the lid and all that. She's bound to get nosy if she notices me tinkering with it…And things are probably going to get kinda awkward if we talk to each other. I'm lucky it wasn't that bad back in __Tengri's room. She was probably too obsessed with the snow and Oliver at first…"_

The cinematic record in his mind had a flashback when he remembered the event from five months ago, in the hospital room_…_

* * *

"…_I also have to deal with your talent as an animal tamer, a dancer, a musician…and you're a good cook, too…" _

_Esther's sapphire eyes widened at these compliments; they were the last thing she expected to come out of his mouth._

_ "And your blonde hair…and your blue eyes…and yo-mmph?!"_

_The man didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as something warm and soft mashed onto his mouth. His brown eyes dilated in surprise with the realization that Esther's lips were pressed purposely against his. It only lasted for a moment and before the man could react, Esther's lips were already pulled away._

_"…You better shut up and get some rest. You saying things like that isn't like you at all."_

_With that the desert blonde walked away and exited out the door without another word. Swaine, still in a state of shock, stared at the door where Esther walked off. His mind was a total blank as if that surprise kiss had erased all of his knowledge and memories with one fell swoop-or smooch, in this case._

* * *

As much as the complicating issue was troubling him, a thin smile still formed on his lips. The little peck was unexpected, but the memory left a warm aftertaste in his mind. His hand came up to sheepishly scratch his curly hair.

He suddenly rotated his head to his left, towards a mirror just above the sink. He came over to get a closer look at his reflection. Before him was a lanky man in his early thirties with an unkempt face and tattered clothes. The handsome teenage prince that he once was had died a long time ago, and this man was all that remainded. He smirked back at his reflection and with a bowed head and softened eyes, he whispered himself,

"I'm the former Hamelin Prince Gascon, once a thief, now Top-Head Engineer of Hamelin, and this is all that's left-Swaine. Not sure what Esther thinks of this, but..."

"Oi, Swaine! Aren't you done in there yet, mun?"

The ex-prince snapped out of his trance. "Eh?...Oh yeah, I'll be right out." He walked over to the door and unlocked it. When he opened the door he found the Lord High Lord of the Fairies staring up at him.

"Well, looks like someone took their sweet time! Took you long enough!"

"Well, excuse me for trying to fix the only pair of pants I've got properly!"

He walked past the annoying fairy and placed the needle and the remaining thread back into the hutch drawer Rashaad had fished them out from earlier. A snoring sound made its way to Swaine's ear. It came from Tengri's stable. The man walked over to the door and opened it up fully to see Tengri calmly breathing and Esther fast asleep against the dragon. The fire was faintly glowing, only radiating a little warmth. The pretty lady sleepily curled up to her pet, trying to stay warm.

A green trench coat was suddenly draped over her, still a little warm from its owner's body heat. Her sleeping body was grateful for the extra blanket as she drifted further away in her dream.

"Aw, ain't that sweet…"

Swaine turned back to the fairy, pointing a thin finger at him. "Do me a favor and keep your big mouth shut about this or else. Got it?"

"Or what, you gonna shot me?"

"I _do_ have my pistol with me… And I know how to use it, in case you've forgotten."

"_Sigh_…Alright, alright, no need to get youer knickers in a twist. C'mon, let's just hit the sack. First thing tomorrow we're goin' to Ding Dong Dell! Or did Marcy and Ollie-boy tell you that already?"

"Sorta. I know the plan."

"Tidy-so let's call it a day and leg it to bed."

Drippy bounced off and the man walked out the door. Before he closed it, he spared one last glance at the desert blonde. Her eyes were covered with dainty eyelashes and her hair was spread out in a heavenly wave of soft gold.

"…Sweet dreams, Esther."

With that final whisper in the air, he gently closed the door, casting the room in the dim shadow of evening.


	3. Chapter 3: Frost in the Well

**Ch3: Frost in the Well**

The grey sky with snowflakes sprinkled in the air had a flash of purple soar through the numbing air. Tengri flapped his wings, sending the snow that landed on them flying away. On his back were Oliver, Esther, and Marcassin with a snoring Swaine leaning heavily on his shoulders.

"Ooooooiiiiiii! This is fun!" Drippy bravely sat on Tengri's head in between the dragon's curled horns.. He hollered back, "Hey, Marcy, is the ol' crank awake yet?"

The sage looked back at his sleeping brother. The older man was knocked out cold into dreamland. His loud snores competed with the roar of the wind rushing past them.

"No, not yet…"

His mind drifted back to this morning, when he discovered the man's sleepy state.

_ The whine of the alarm clock jerked the emperor from his sleep. Slapping his pale hand on the device, he slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes._

_ As his eyes adjusted to his surroundings, he saw Swaine slouched over the table of the inn room, just like last night. The night before, Swaine had stubbornly insisted that the emperor should go to bed without him, saying he'd join him shortly. The younger man reluctantly went to sleep, hoping his older brother would go to bed eventually._

_ Yet there he was, the same hunched over figure from late last night. It was as though he hadn't moved at all from the night before._

_ Curious and concerned, Marcassin swung his legs over the bedside and walked over to the desk to find the man's fingers manipulating a white ribbon, clumsily attempting to tie it into a bow on a box-shaped object wrapped in shiny blue paper. The man's eyes were half closed and had almost-black circles under them._

_ The Sage's hands came around and gently placed his hands on the ribbon, backing Swaine's hands off. The new pair of hands tied the pretty string into a bow. Once the knot was done, his hands backed away. The room was silent for a moment until Swaine sighed._

_ "…Finished …thanks Marcassin…"_

_ "Swaine, have you been awake here all night?"_

_ His question came too late; Swaine's head fell forward with eyes now glued shut with exhaustion. The man began to snore, fast asleep._

Ever since then, the mechanic had been busy snoring and sleeping. His younger brother had to literally drag the man out of the inn. Although Marcassin was now a fully grown man and Oliver was a fairly well built teenager, they still had a hard time shoving Swaine up onto Tengri's back. For a thin man he was rather heavy.

"Oi! Ollie-boy, I see Ding Dong Dell! It's just below us, mun!" Drippy yelled at his wizard friend.

Oliver nodded. "Alright! Everyone, hang on tight!" He fastened his hands firmly on Tengri's collar.

The scaled mode of transportation dove towards the ground, swiftly losing altitude. He glided along the snow frosted ground. The fresh layer of snow twinkled back at the dragon. Finally flapping his wide wings, he made a smooth landing as his clawed hind legs sank in the four inch high snow.

Drippy hopped down from the dragon's head. "Oi, thanks Tengri! Just like old times, eh?"

"Kyah, kya!" Tengri nuzzled his nose by the fairy.

"Ha ha, okay, down mun, down, haha!"

While Oliver and Esther slid off the dragon's back, Marcassin tried to gently wake Swaine from his slumber.

"Swaine, it's time to wake up."

"Zzz…Nah, I'll pass on the barrel…zzz…"

The sage shook Swaine's shoulders slightly. "Swaine, wake up! We're at our destination!"

"Zzz…careful with that flamethrower…zzz…"

Drippy's eyebrows shot up. "Blimey, what the flip is he dreamin' about?"

Marcassin looked down. "My guess is as good as yours. I only wish he'd wake up…"

The man continued to mumble in between snores. "Zzz…no, the blue one…zzz…"

"Swaine! Swaine, wake up!" Marcassin shook the man's shoulders more vigorously. He suddenly lost his grip as the lanky man slid off the dragon by gravity's stubborn grip. His sleeping body hit the white snow with a muffled thud. Then his eyes suddenly shot open and sat upright.

"Zzz-Gyah! Cold!" His once snoring mouth now made the sound of chattering teeth. He clutched his arms to drive out the numbness from the snow.

Esther began to crack up laughing. "Ha ha ha ha, good morning, sleepy head!"

"Eh? Wait, where are we?" Swaine looked around at the white landscape and the familiar town of Ding Dong Dell. "When did we get _here_?"

Marcassin carefully got down from Tengri's back. "I'm sorry, Swaine, but we had to drag you on Tengri while you were sleeping. I'm afraid you were asleep the whole time… Did you sleep well?"

Swaine stood up with a yawn. "I guess. I could still use some coffee, though…"

"Well, I'm sure they've got some at Ding Dong Dell." Drippy said, "C'mon, let's get going, slow pokes!"

As Drippy jumped along the snow with Oliver and Esther following him, Swaine reached into his bag and examined the blue package from last night. He gently shook it, feeling for any damage on the precious item.

"…Phew, I think it's in one piece." He placed the box back into the messenger bag and walked in the direction of the others alongside Marcassin.

The kingdom was coated in a shiny layer of snow. The paw print street was now a blanket of soft white and footprints from the citizens of Ding Dong Dell. They managed to go about with their daily lives bundled up in blankets or spare coats. The pale snow brought out the colorful Christmas decorations of red, green, silver, and gold. Like Hamelin, the streets had caught the holiday spirit and proudly wore holiday wreaths and bright ribbons. A few kids ran down the side of the road, happily dashing through the snow.

Oliver took in the beautiful holiday sight. "Wow…this place looks like the cover of a Christmas card!"

"It does, doesn't it?" Esther stared at a lovely little snowman with a red plaid scarf. "It's really like a white Christmas!"

"Uh-huh, all we need is Santa Clause!"

There was a long, awkward pause. Oliver jerked his head around.

"Huh? What?"

"Santa who?"

Oliver suddenly blinked. "Oh! This isn't my world-or my Christmas. I guess there would be some differences in our holidays…"

"Oh, I get it now!" Drippy nodded his lantern. "So, does this 'Santa-whosit' happen to give toys to all the kids in the world?"

"Uh-huh! That's exactly what he does!"

"Well, then I bet youer 'Santa' is our equivalent to The Woodcarver of Kindness!"

"Um…the woodcarver of kindness?"

"Hmmm, this is gonna take a long time…" Drippy hopped on the edge of one of the small pools that were part of the grand fountain of a former Ding Dong Dell gremlin king with three fish pouring icy cold water out of their mouths. The other four did the same and took seats along the square's fountain.

The fairy cleared his throat. "Okay then, Ollie-boy, why don't you start us off with youer world's Christmas?"

"Well, this all may sound pretty silly to you guys…but generally at the north pole of my world, there's this legend that an old man in a red suit and hat named Santa Clause lives there with his wife and elves where they spend the entire year making toys for all the kids in the world. And every night on Christmas Eve, he puts all of the toys in his sleigh, and the sleigh is pulled by eight reindeer –um, these big animals that kinda look like Ulk-that can fly and pull his sleigh through the sky all around the world to deliver the presents to all the good kids of the world in just one night."

Silence. Then the loud laughing of Swaine.

"Hahahaha-oh boy, that's –pfft, hahaha! AhahaHAHAHA!"

The Al Mamoomian blonde glared at him as she sharply jabbed her elbow in his arm, putting an end to his laughter.

"Crikey, that's quite a legend, Ollie-boy!" Drippy chirped. "Our Christmas legend is a bit different, though…"

"Um…You said something about a woodcarver, right?"

"Good, you were paying attention! See, a long, long time ago…"

_There was once a simple woodcarver. He and his wife were traveling in the Winter Isles during a huge snow storm. The wife got very sick in the storm, and the woodcarver sought for shelter. He found a lonely orphanage. He asked for shelter and help for his ill wife. The owner and children warmly welcomed them and kept the wife warm and safe. _

_In exchange for their kindness, the woodcarver carved lovely wooden toys for the orphans. He made dolls, blocks, little animals…he made a toy for each and every child in that orphanage for twelve whole days. As each day passed, the wife got a bit better, the children played with their new toys, and the storm grew weaker._

_On the thirteenth day, which happened to be Christmas day, the wife was perfectly healthy, the storm had passed, and every single child had a toy to call their own. Thanking the kind people for their help, the woodcarver and his wife left the orphanage and were never seen again._

_But they never forgot the kindness of the people…_

_The very next year on Christmas morning, the children of the orphanage awoke to the sight of wood carven toys under their tree. The laughed with joy and knew right away they were made by the same wood carver from the winter before._

_They wanted to thank him for the gifts, but there was no indication on the whereabouts of the carver. No note, no signature, nothing. _

_Every Christmas after that, children of all over the world woke up on Christmas morning with gifts under the tree. And so it became known that the woodcarver's kindness still lived on and he continued to make toys to all the kind little boys and girls of the world. He had familiar friends and the help of his wife's love and spirit to aid him with his new purpose in life to encourage and reward the kindness of youth as he and his crew of familiars made not only wooden toys, but toys of every kind for every kind of kind girl and boy._

"Huh…" Oliver pondered the tale. "So the Woodcarver of Kindness is probably like Santa Clause, and his familiars are like the elves…"

"Uh-huh! But when you think about it, the message is still the same, en't it? Christmas is a time for kindness and happiness, of magic and giving gifts to those you love, no matter where you are!"

"Neato!"

The five were silent for a bit as they contently stared at the falling snow, happy to be together at this merry time of year.

Until the hollering of a man from behind the fountain caught their attention.

"Your Meowjesty, I beg of you, please leave this to the rest of the guards! You're in no condition to investigate the well!"

"For the thousandth time, one is just fine! One will not let a little cold stop-ah…ah-ah-ACHOO!"

"Bless you, Your Meowjesty!"

"_Sniff_…Yes, thank you, now leave one to one's royal duties, please."

"But your cold, Your Mewojesty!"

Oliver and the others got up from the fountain and ran around to the other side. A pair of Ding Dong Dell guards were still trying to convince a large tabby grimalkin in a baby blue robe and a large crown. His feline nose was a bit red, as if he had been blowing his nose for a while.

"It is not of your concern, one's friends. One will not just-_cough, cough_-sit around on one's tail and wait for the situation to handle itself! No, one insists that one takes action-ah-ah-ACHOO!"

"Um, excuse me, Your Meowjesty."

Oliver took a few steps toward the royal feline. His Meowjesty looked towards the quiet voice. His blue eyes grew larger at this familiar young man.

"…My word…I-is that you, O-Oliver?" King Tom bent forward and sniffed at the boy, not believing his eyes. He walked around him in a circle with his nose wrinkling at the young man.

"…That smell…it…it is from the other world, is it not?"

Oliver replied, "Um, I suppose so…but it's good to see you again, Your Meowjesty!"

King Tom's eyes lit up. "Why, praise the mother of all grimalkin! Welcome back, Oliver the Savi-ah-ah-ACHOO! Oh, blasted cold..."

"Your Meowjesty, are you okay?"

"Yes, one is just fine! But may one ask what does one owe the fine pleasure of seeing you aga-_cough, cough_!"

Drippy made a mighty leap onto Oliver's head. "Oi, you sure youer all tidy, Youer Meowjesty? That sounds like a proper nasty cold there!"

"Oh, do not be worried for one's condition. One is perfectly fine and dandy! Besides, one cannot just sit around while bizarre creatures keep coming out of Ding Dong Well!"

Drippy was taken aback for a second and fell back to the ground. "Eh? You mean monsters?"

"Well, sort of-_cough_-ever since we received this early winter weather, strange beings have been out and wandering in the streets of one's kingdom! Although they aren't particularly strong or deadly, they do appear to be hostile towards anyone they see…"

Marcassin stepped forward. "Could you go into more detail about these creatures?"

His Meowjesty pulled his whiskers as he rummaged through his brain for more information. "Mmm…Well, according to witnesses, they're all pure white with a pale glowing fog around them-ah-ah-ACHOO!"

"Gesundheit, Your Meowjesty."

"_Sniff_…Yes, now where was one…Ah, yes, from what we've heard, they only come out at night and from that rotten well of Hickory Dock! Although we have no proof that that rat is responsible for this, one wishes to speak with him and see if he knows anything about this situation."

"Hmmm…"Marcassin began to pace along the snow covered road, sprinkling the layer of frost with his footprints. "Strange white monsters surrounded by a fog…and from the well…May I ask what sort of creatures normally occupy the well?"

"Well, I can't remember the exact kinds of beasts they were," Swaine rubbed his fingers along his stubble. "But they definitely weren't white or covered in some weird fog."

The group was silent with the quiet of thought. The peace was broken when Esther suddenly looked behind her and said, "Everyone, look!"

Several heads spun around to find a small furry body with frosted over fur dashing towards them. As it got closer, the humans could make out a pair of tiny brown glasses and a tuff of golden brown hair. The little creature shook its body, allowing its grey fur to be seen. Panting and shivering, the mouse looked up to the royal cat.

"Huff…Your…Meowjesty…huff…we need…huff…help…the well's…huff…huff…"

"Whoa there, fella," Drippy patted the mouse on the head, "Why don't you catch your breath first, eh?"

The mouse looked up to the fairy and the surrounding people as he regained his precious breath. His eyes gleamed when he got a look at Oliver.

"Hey, you look familiar…Aren't you that big baby who slept with a stupid doll three and a half years ago?"

"Wh-what? Hey, I-I don't sleep with Mr. Drippy anymore! Besides, I'm sixteen now, Phil-I mean Pip!" The wizard's face grew a pair of pink circles on his cheeks.

"Hmph! Well, then you're a really big baby!" He then shook his head. "Bah, never mind, this is an emergency!"

Esther crouched down and cupped her hands around the shivering mouse.

"It's okay. Just take a deep breath and tell us what's wrong."

"Hey, I'm not a baby!" Pip paused as the lady pierced her blue eyes with a dangerous fire brewing in them.

"…Hmph, alright, fine." He inhaled for two seconds, and let it out slowly.

"Okay, here's the problem; King Hickory's gone missing and these stupid white monsters keep roaming around in our well!"

King Tom's crown leaped up in the air a good foot above his head. "Goodness! Hickory Dock...missing?! And white monsters?"

"Uh-huh! And it's freezing down there! It's been cold before, but now everyone's freezing their tails off!"

Swaine and Marcassin made eye contact, communicating only by the emotion in their eyes. The mechanic lazily shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Well, looks like we've got another charity case on our hands."

Esther and Oliver nodded and turned to His Meowjesty.

"Your Meowjesty, you should go back to bed; you can leave the well to us!"

"Meowhat? Once assures you, one can-ah-ACHOO!" He sneezed again, giving his paw a snot bath.

Esther came up, pulling a tissue from her skirt pocket and handing it to the king. "Your Meowjesty, please listen to us; you've got a bad cold and belong in bed. You can't go out in this cold in your condition. You're the ruler of Ding Dong Dell, and your duty is to protect your kingdom, and you can't do that while sneezing every ten seconds. The sooner you get some rest, the sooner you'll be better, and the sooner you can properly protect your people. You can count on us to help you and investigate the well."

The whole time, the king's ears were perked upwards and listening to her voice of reason. Once she was done, he wiped his nose with the tissue and took a deep breath of the cold air.

"…Very well. But only on the condition that you allow one to help you however else one can!"

Esther, Swaine, Marcassin, and Drippy looked at their leader-Oliver the wizard, the Savior, the sixteen year old boy. He nodded his head.

"Of course. We'll all work together to get to the bottom of this!"

"Meowvarlous!" King Tom purred enthusiastically. "Guards, fetch Oliver and his friends some proper clothes and provisions. There should be a stash of tonics in the doctor's ward and spare coats in the basement."

The guards saluted their king with a hearty, "Yes, Your Meowjesty!" They marched away, leaving the crunch of their boots along the snow in their wake.

"Oliver, you and your friends should-_cough, cough_-come into the castle as well-one's sure it'll be much more pleasant to wait for the things inside rather than out here in the cold."

Just as His Meowjesty had finished his sentence, a howling breeze brushed past them with its icy breath, sending goose bumps up everyone's arms.

"Brrr! I say we take up His Meowjesty's offer, buntin'!" Drippy said in between chattering teeth.

Oliver nodded with rapidly moving teeth as well and the five followed the fat tabby king into his mansion of a home.

* * *

"Careful, everyone! The ground over here is rather slippery!"

Marcassin carefully extended his arm out to Swaine and the others one by one, helping them out of the icy water that flooded the entrance of Ding Dong Well.

"Brrr, the rat wasn't kidding when he said it was cold!" Swaine complained as he tightened the red scarf around his neck.

"Hey, in case you haven't noticed, grandpa, I'm a mouse, not a rat!" Pip piped up from atop Esther's head.

"I'm not that old! Yeesh!" Swaine stuck his hands into the deep pockets of the thick green winter coat he wore, muttering a curse under his breath.

"Oi, knock it off, will ya? We don't have all day for everyone to bicker about down here!" Wiping his lantern for frost, Drippy hopped towards the edge of the stone path to see the rest of the icy cold water flow away.

Oliver bent over to the ground to observe the ground. Instead of a coat of moist mold, it wore a thin layer of ice. He rubbed the floor with hands encased by blue mittens. It had been years since he had last gone down here, but it definitely wasn't like this.

"Hey, Pip, how long has it been like this?"

The mouse looked down. "'Bout two weeks. For the past two weeks, it's just gotten colder and colder. I'm lucky my whiskers haven't grown icicles yet!"

The tamer tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and fiddled with the pom poms that hung off of the tie strings of her rose pink coat. "What about the other mice? And the other animals?"

"…Now that you mention it, I haven't seen that many normal animals around besides my kind lately. Nothing but these creepy white weirdos."

There was suddenly a burst of bright blue light from Marcassin's staff. The tip shone like a lantern and illuminated the dark passageways of the well. He walked forward a few steps where the path broke into several directions. The well was silent save the muffled shuffling of his thick winter pants and the occasional drip of water. He rotated his head left and right, surveying for any danger.

"…The coast is clear." Marcassin waved his arm for the others to join him. The rest of the party ventured deeper into the well, accompanied by the dull clops of their boots. As they progressed deeper into the underground water system, the air's temperature sank lower and lower. The ground that was once littered with water filled cracks had transformed into bits of ice and frozen moisture.

"…Something's up…" Swaine's dark eyes wandered around suspiciously. "It's too quiet, and there should be at least one little monster running around-"

He was cut off by Esther's sharp gasp. Her gloved hands came up to her mouth in horror.

"Eh? What's wrong, Esth-whoa!"

He looked down to where her eyes pointed and found a chilling sight floating in the water-a Rabbot encased in a coffin of ice. It was as though time had stopped for the little guy the very moment he was stuck into the ice, with limbs extended out from his body struggling to break free.

"Man…this isn't good." Swaine's eyes had the color of flabbergastion. Esther's shoulders still shivered with fear. She took shaking steps away from the gruesome sight. But she didn't get very far before Drippy's yell stopped her in her tracks.

"Crikey! This is bad, flipping bad, mun!"

"What is it, Mr. Drippy?" Oliver looked over to the water. "J-Jeepers!" Sailing in the water was another beast that met with an icy fate-a taddlywink. But they didn't have time to further comment on the frozen monsters.

"Everyone, look out!"

Swaine and Esther's heads spun around to Marcassin's voice to see a pair of small white fox-like creatures growling belligerently. They were no bigger than a medium sized dog, but their pointed rows of teeth growled with malice.

"Oh no, not those guys again!" Pip squeaked.

"What!? What do you mean, 'those guys again'?" Swaine pinched his thumb and finger on Pip's shoulders and held him up to his face.

"I mean these are the white weirdos that keep hanging around here! Now put me down!"

"Guys, watch out!"

Pip turned his head to Oliver's voice. The white foxes howled a cold current of air, sending everyone a good meter back. Oliver pulled out Astra, the legendary twin wand to Mornstar, and began to draw a complex pattern in the air.

"Fireball!"

A roaring sphere of flames erupted from the wand's tip and flew towards the foxes. The ball made contact with the floor and exploded into a field of flames. Shrieking with pain, the foxes darted away from the intense heat. The fox twins growled loudly and leaped towards the wizard with open jaws, ready to strike.

Had a pair of bullets not struck their heads in time, Oliver would have been torn to shreds by their sharp fangs.

"Ha! Fancy your chances, do you?"

Swaine loaded another slug into his Highwayman's Handgun. Raising his arm, he fired for the foxes-but the targets were light on their feet and quickly darted away.

"Hey!"-_Bang_-"Hold still!"-_bang_-"Damn it!"-_bang_-"Stop moving, will you?!"-_Bang!_

One of the foxes began to spin its tail like a fan. A strong wind ran past the man and the floor below him grew a thicker layer of slippery ice. Now at the mercy of the friction between the ice and his shoes, he slid backwards by the wind.

"Rrrr-Dammit!" He clutched a hand on an outcropped brick from the wall, putting an end to his sliding. He raised his arm in front of his face to shield it from the frosty breeze. His eyes grew large as he noticed large icicles forming on the ceiling and stalagmites of ice rose from the ground.

"What the hell are these things?"

An arm suddenly griped his other arm. He turned around to see Esther hanging on and slowly stepping forward.

"Esther, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get closer, what does it look like?"

"But you're gonna turn into a human popsicle if you get too close!"

She took another careful step and released her grip from his arm. "I'm an animal tamer, remember? Maybe I can tame them!"

"What?! Are you crazy?! There's no way your music it gonna calm down these guys!"

The foxes growled at the woman. Esther took a few more steps closer, ignoring Swaine's statement. She hesitantly raised her harp and played her heart winning serenade. Lovely music vibrated through the well with the harp and her voice.

But the twin foxes were not impressed. They merely barked angrily at her and tried to bite out the instrument out of her hands.

"Ah! Hey! No, down, down!"

She shook her head and backed up a few steps. The desert woman now stood in the middle of the area. Her boots gripped onto the ice the best they could as she stretched her arm back. The arm shot back to her harp, and her hand plucked the strings frantically, resulting in awful, ear-splitting notes from her harp.

The foxes whimpered and covered their pointed ears with their paws. Swaine and the others did the same as their ear drums cried for mercy. However, the terrible vibrations not only harmed the monster's and her friend's ears, but also loosened the icicles. Cracks crawled along the cones of ice at the upper edge, weakening the ice's grip on the ceiling. But Esther was too occupied with her harp and the notes were much louder than the cracks.

The only one who really noticed this was the street-savvy man.

"Esther! Get out of the way!"

"What?" Esther hollered back.

_Crack!_

She looked up and with a gasp, saw the giant shard of ice ready to fall right above her.

"Don't just stand there, RUN!"

Esther turned sharply around to flee, but her boots lost traction with the ice beneath her. She fell down on the cold ice on her front and struggled to get back to her feet. Her boots were made for light snow, not slippery ice.

"Dammit!" Swaine's fingers wrapped around a special switch on his gun. A thick, strong cord with a claw at the end shot out of the muzzle. It clutched onto a sturdy ice stalagmite on the opposite side of the area with a metallic clink. As the rope grew tight, Swaine was pulled across the ice.

"Esther, grab on!" He reached out his free arm towards the woman as he slid past. She clasped her hand around his wrist and was pulled along with him. They were swiftly pulled away from the icicle of doom as gravity pulled it down to the ground with a loud crash behind the duo.

Esther and Swaine tripped over to the non-iced edge of the floor as the cord grew slack. They looked behind to what remained behind them; an enormous mound of ice, as sharp and cold as broken glass. It was a road block of cold needles and shards-and it was blocking the path between where they once were and where they were now.

"Oh no…Oliver! Marcassin!" Esther came closer to the road block and yelled, "Oliver! Marcassin! Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine! But what about you guys?"

"We're in one piece, at least." Swaine replace his gun back into his coat. "But does anybody know what happened with those crazy foxes?"

At that precise moment, he looked down and found a dark blue liquid slowly oozing from the bottom of the ice. He removed a glove and stuck a finger into the substance. His dark eyes narrowed at the blue paint between his thumb and finger.

"…_Is…Is this their blood? It's pretty cold and the color isn't normal…"_

Marcassin said from the other side of the ice, "Swaine, is something wrong?"

"…It's nothing. Anyway, what now?"

"Hmm…wait, where's Pip?"

"Here!" A voice squeaked out from Esther's coat hood. A pair of glasses and round ears popped out of her blonde hair. "Looks like we dealt with those weirdos!"

"Oi, you sure mun?" Drippy shouted back from his position by Oliver and Marcassin. "Blimey…those foxies were proper weird, that's for sure."

"Yeah, but now we're going to have to go different ways!" He hopped out of Esther's hood and onto the stone floor. "You guys just take the main route. The big baby's knows the way, right?"

"H-hey! It's Oliver!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, don't worry about us. We'll just take another route."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, besides, we don't have much of a choice here. Getting over this stupid pile of ice would take ages!"

"The mouse has a point." Swaine pulled his glove back onto his hand. "You two be careful, you hear?"

"Loud and clear, Swaine! You be careful, too, muns!" Jumping in a one eighty, Drippy skipped away with the two wizards as Swaine and Esther turned to their mouse companion.

"So where is this other route?"

"Just over here, come on!"

He darted away, twisting his head left and right as if he was searching for something. Swaine and Esther jogged after him, hot on his heels.

"No…too small…nope…small…ah-ha! Perfect!"

Pip scurried up to a large opening in the wall that served to feed precious water to the rest of the well. Chilly water lazily poured out between iron bars. He leaped up, grabbed onto a minuscule outcropping from the brick wall, and squeezed in between the bars to behind. After a few moments and the sound of a leaver turning, the bars steady raised up.

"In here!"

Swaine jabbed a finger at the opening. "You mean we have to crawl up in there, wade through freezing cold water-"

"Oh, stop whining, grandpa! This is the only other way around, and this opening is one of the only few big enough for you guys to squeeze though."

Esther peered into the gaping mouth of darkness as cold water drooled out.

"…Are you sure this is the only other way?"

"Uh-huh. And don't worry about getting lost-we mice know our way around this place like the backs of our paws. Come on!"

The tiny mammal darted deeper into the tunnel, out of sight. The lanky man looked into the darkness, hesitating.

"…Ladies first?" He waved his hand in front of him, gesturing to Esther.

"Hmph. Coward." She hoisted herself up and squirmed into the tunnel.

"Touché, little miss familiar tamer."

"Geezer!"

"Babana girl!"

"Hey, quit bickering already!" Pip's squeak echoed from up ahead. "We don't have all day! Are you guys coming or what?"

Esther crawled deeper into the damp, dark path. She looked back to her scruffy friend.

"Hey, aren't you coming? We don't have time for you to play chicken."

"I am not playing chicken! I'm coming!" Swaine stepped up and entered as well.

"Damn, this place is pretty cramped."

"Brrr! And the water's freezing!" Esther held a wet hand to her face. "Our hands and knees are going to go numb by the time we get out of here!"

"Hey! This way!" Pip's squeak cut through the darkness. "I know it's kinda hard to see for you humans, so just follow my voice!" There was the sound of feet scurrying over the water with little splashes.

Esther looked behind her. She saw the odd silhouette of Swaine's hunched over profile against the light from the opening. The only other thing she could make out was the dull reflection in his brown eyes. From here on out, it would be nothing but inky darkness. She took a deep breath and began to crawl forward.

* * *

**AN: Hey everyone! Enjoying the story so far? I'm going to try to update about every six days, so stay tuned!**

**And thank you so much for your reviews. It's like a birthday gift every time I read how much you guys love my fic. Thank you! :D**


	4. Chapter 4: Shards of Ice

**Ch 4: Shards of Ice**

"Hurry up, Marcy! Get a move on, Ollie-boy!"

"I'm com-whaowch!" The sage fell down on the ice once again, and the savior followed suit.

"Honest to goodness, that's the eighth time the two of you have slipped like that!"

Marcassin carefully tried to get back to his feet. "I'm sorry, Drippy, but it's been a while since I've last been on ice…W-whoa…" His legs were apart in an unusual way as he regained balance on the slippery floor.

"Drippy, how much further do you think we have to go to reach-"

"J-J-Jeepers!"

"Eh? What's up Ollie-bo…Yikes!"

The trio stared down at the floor, below the ice. Where they once stood was a giant pool of water, but now it was a frozen block of ice.

And that block of ice encased a large rat with even larger ears and a huge scar on its forehead.

"Blimey! It's ol' Hickory Dock!"

Oliver crouched down to the ice. He stared at the rodent with horror frozen on his face. "W-What do we do?"

"Oliver, stand back." Marcassin ordered him. The Hamelin emperor raised his staff back and thrust it into the ice. The wand's blue tip glowed brightly as a flickering flame began to form at the other end, into the floor. But it quickly went out as the ice zapped the fire with faint blue sparks.

"...Oh dear…"

"What is it, Marcassin?"

"This ice…It's not normal ice. It's been enchanted by magic. And that magic seems to counter my fire spells."

"Well, what now?" Drippy tapped the ice with his foot.

"Hmm…Let me try something different…" The man thrust his staff into a new spot of ice and conjured a different spell-but only to have it backfire in his face. His electricity magic shot back and electrocuted him with loud bzzzts.

"M-Marcassin!"

"Blimey, that must be proper painful…"

A minute later the current of electricity stopped. Marcassin was covered with soot from head to toe and his hair was puffed up in a hopeless mess. With a dull "…Ow…" his knees buckled and he fell onto the ice.

"Marcassin! Marcassin, are you ok-whoa!" Oliver stopped mid sentence as he too slipped and fell victim to gravity.

The Lord High Lord of the Fairies sighed. "Oh boy…at this rate we'll be stuck here 'till next year! Hmm…'Wonder how far Esther and Swaine's gotten..."

* * *

"Owch! Dammit, why does the ceiling have to be so low?"

Swaine rubbed a lithe hand against his sore head where the wall above him had made painful contact with his head.

"Just keep moving, Swaine!" Esther called back in the darkness ahead of him. "The faster we go through here, the sooner we can get out of here!"

"Guys, over here!" Pip's squeak echoed in front of them. The tamer looked forward again, noticing a faint light from up ahead and Pip's shadow. "We're almost there!"

"Phew, finally! Light!"

"Light? Where?"

"Right in front of me, Swaine! We're almost out!"

"Oh, thank god. I was getting tired of staring at your fat ass."

She whipped her head around with fury in her eyes. "Excuse me?!"

The man suddenly regretted what he said. _"Oh, me and my big, %$&#ing mouth."_

"Um-ah-what I meant was-uh-"

"My behind is just fine, thank you very much! The moment we get out, I'm going to take that stupid mouth of yours and-"

"Hey! Are you guys coming out or what?" The mouse piped up impatiently. "Look lady, you can beat up your dumb boyfriend later-we don't have all day!"

"Wh-wh-what?!" Esther's face grew a deep shade of red. "No-no, he's not my boyfriend-h-he's just a friend, really!"

"Well, whatever he is, just come on!" The mouse jumped down from the tunnel into a medium sized room with a bone-chilling air. "Sheesh, if I didn't know better, I'd think they were an old married couple or something."

The blonde steadily emerged from the tunnel and crawled out onto the floor hands first. She brushed the frost from her knees and looked around.

"Brrr, it's still a little cold here." Her hands came up to cover her arms to protect as much warmth as she could.

Meanwhile, the lanky man exited the tunnel, squirming out in a similar fashion to Esther.

"Ow…My back's all sore from that damn tunnel."

"Well, too bad, gramps, because we're gonna have to go down another."

Pip scurried over to another waterway opening. Unlike the last one, this one was a bit larger, had no iron bars blocking the way, and instead of water trailing out of its mouth, it sported a frozen waterfall and a river of ice down.

"This one goes downhill for the most part and has frost on the bottom, so we can just slide down." Pip ran ahead and jumped down the slide of ice with a 'whee!'.

The two humans peered into the mouth of the tunnel. They looked pensively at each other.

"Oh no, forget 'ladies first'-this time _you're_ going first." She thrust her finger at Swaine's chest.

"Alright, alright, I get it."

He stepped up into the opening and scooched forward. The man looked down at the black of darkness below him. There was the faint moan of the air below him, as if warning him not to proceed. He gulped, looked behind him, and flashed one of his trademark smirks over his shoulder.

"Here goes nothing."

The man leaned forward and let gravity do its work. With the frictionless ice rubbing along his bottom, he sped down through the cloak of darkness, without the faintest idea where he was going.

The slide began to twist and turn in a snaking pattern. Without the aid of sight, the man was at the mercy of the slide of ice for balance. It was as though he was on a roller coaster in the dead of night without the faintest trace of starlight.

"Whoa…whoa…whoa…!"

Suddenly the incline went down sharply, resulting in the man swooping down at a blinding speed.

"Whooooaaaa!"

Swaine was sliding so fast that by the time he realized he had reached the exit, his body had already crashed with the ground bellow.

"Oof! Ow…Just my dumb luck that-OOF!"

Something heavy fell right on top of his body, knocking the breath out of his lungs.

"Ack…can't…breathe…"

"Owch…Ah! Swaine, are you okay?" The weight was lifted from his body and brought a hand to his shoulder. When the man looked over, he saw Esther's face staring right back at his.

"That was you? How many bricks do you have in your pockets?! You practically weigh a ton!"

_Slap!_

"One more word about my weight, butt, or whatever else, and you're dead meat. Understand?"

"Okay, okay, I got it…" Swaine rubbed his cheek, now stamped with Esther's red hand print.

"Sigh…what am I going to do with y…" Esther suddenly noticed how her breath came out in puffs of fog as she spoke. The air from the tunnels was already cold enough, but their current location made those places feel like summertime in comparison.

The couple took in their surroundings. They were in an spacious area of the well that was open to the grey sky above them. The mosaic floor below their boots was tiled with a decorative design of two lilac fish swimming in a circle. It was now spotted over with patches of ice and snow. The walls around them had multiple openings, just like the one they had just slid out from, and had long icicles dangling from them where water once flowed out. The air that once rang out with the whisper of running water was now deadly silent, as if the temperature had frozen the air along with the moss that clung to the walls.

"Hey, where's pipsqueak?" The mechanic scanned the ground, but found no traces of the tiny mammal.

"Pip? Pip, where are you?" The sound of shuffling snow reached Esther's ears. She turned around to a pile of snow with a thin tail sticking out.

"Mmf! Mm mmf! Mmm mfm!"

She crouched down and gently pulled the tail up from the snow. Dangling at the other end was Pip with frost coated glasses.

"Huff…huff…I thought I'd suffocate in there!"

"Are you alright? You didn't break anything, did you?"

"What are you, my mommy? It's not like crash landing in a pile of snow is the most dangerous stunt in the world. I'm fine, just cold." He shook his fur free of snowflakes.

Swaine bent forward to the mouse. "Hey, Pip, where the hell did we end up?"

"This is the end of the well. It's a bit like a plaza for us mice. But I've noticed that most of those white weirdos seem to come from this direction of the well."

Esther moved the animal to her other hand, holding it gently in her palm. "So…this is where those fox things came from?"

"I think so. But every time we tried to see for ourselves, we got ambushed! As much as we hate King Tom, I had to scram for help."

"Well, if this place is the source, then where are all the foxes? This place is like a ghost town."

Swaine and Esther's head moved from side to side, but failed to see anything strange.

But they did hear something out of the ordinary-a low, menacing growl right behind them.

"Uh, Swaine, was that you?"

"No-I take it that wasn't you?"

"N-No…"

They slowly turned around. On top of the large waterfall stood a ten foot tall beast with white fur, striped in jet black stripes. It had the head and body of a tiger with black eyes. With a mighty leap of its strong legs, the beast landed on the snow before the duo. Sharp claws pointed out from dinner plate sized paws, like polished knives. As the large cat let a mighty roar lose, it exposed its pointed fangs that stuck out of its mouth, like a saber tooth's jaw.

"What the hell?! What's with the cat? Those other guys were foxes!"

"Swaine, just stay calm!"

The tiger let out another roar, this time summoning a sharp gust of winter wind past them. The beast seemed to literally breathe snow and ice.

"Brrrrrr! Damn it, that's cold!"

"Wait-do you think this monster is behind the cold?"

"Of course it is! It just breathed out a snowstorm at us!"

"I mean the colder weather in the other parts of the world! Remember Al Mamoon?"

The man blinked. "Oh. Um, I gu-LOOK OUT!"

The tiger swiped his monstrous paw towards them. Swaine pulled Esther and himself to the side, avoiding getting torn to shreds by its claws.

"…I don't think I'll be able to tame this guy. He's just so angry…"

"Then get ready to fight!" He whipped out his trusty pistol, ready to fire. Esther saw the determination in his dark brown eyes as they pointed at her blue orbs.

"I don't know if toothy here is responsible for our mini ice age or not, and frankly I don't care. All I know is we've got to deal with him for good or Ding Dong Dell's gonna turn into the world's biggest ice box! Ya with me?"

The desert girl pulled out her harp. "Ready when you are."

The snow tiger growled at these intruders and jumped forward, preparing to strike.

* * *

_Chink, chink, chink, chink, chink…_

"Phew…What'd I'd give if I could just melt this ice with my magic."

"No kidding…How long have we been here?"

Marcassin stood up from the ice, reached into his chest pocket, and flipped open a silver pocket watch. His eyebrows knitted together as he realized the watch didn't tick with its normal rhythm. He shook it lightly. When that failed, he opened the back of the watch, finding the problem-the gears were stuck with ice halting their work.

"…I'm not sure. I'm afraid my watch has frozen up." He placed it back into his pocket and thrust his staff back into the ice, chipping away a bit more ice. For the past hour, he, Oliver, and Drippy had been slowly chipping away at the enchanted ice. Although the frozen water was impervious to magic, it was still vulnerable to old fashioned man power and labor.

"Crikey, I hope ol' ratface is still okay when we dig him out." Drippy thrust his stone into the ground, breaking away some more ice. "I mean, what if he gets a case of amnesia or something?"

Oliver wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Well, amnesia or not, I'll feel a lot better once he's out of this ice. We can't give up!"

_Chink, chink, chink, chink, chink…_

* * *

"Show 'im what I'm made of, Gunther!"

Obeying Swaine's command, the Hurlabaloo charged towards the winter beast. Grunting, he punched his fists forward into the tiger's head. The monster hissed furiously and swiped his claws at the familiar. Gunther dodged the counter attack and leaped up on the back of the tiger's neck. He brought his fists together, pulled them behind his head, and swung down towards the beast's head.

Just before his iron fists made contact, a pointed collar of ice formed around the tiger's neck. Cold icicles sprang out and pushed Gunther off. He hit the ground with a loud thud and grunt.

"Gunther!" Swaine stepped over to his familiar. "You okay, boy?"

"Uugh! Uugh!" The burly beast pumped his hands in the air, still hungry for a fight.

The monster growled loudly, giving the man and familiar a good look inside his mouth. The ring of ice around its neck grew sharp needles, resembling the kind of collars guard dogs wore. Similar rings formed around its ankles and at the end of its tail. Shards of ice glistened coldly and began to shoot out from the rings.

"Esther, look out!"

The Mamoon girl jerked her body swiftly, avoiding the sharp icicles perfectly. Being a dancer, she naturally moved her body with ease as she dodged the attacks.

However, Swaine didn't have as much luck with these needles of frozen water. The ice pierced the edges of his coat, pinning him against the wall. Another arrow shot past his face and cut his cheek. A thin line of red appeared as if by magic. The man hissed with distress and tried to pull himself free.

"Urghh-urgh-c'mon, arm, budge!" He pulled his right arm forward. It slowly inched away from the wall until the appendage was free from the spikes. Now able to move about, the arm reached for the other shards that bound the other arm to the wall. Just as he had pulled out the last one, Esther's scream pierced through the air.

With wide eyes, he turned his attention to the center of the area, where the woman was steady being covered from the feet up in a thick coat of ice. The cold substance crept up her torso and around her chest.

"Swaine! Swaine, help!"

"Esther, hang on!" He dashed forward and fired his gun at the ice. The bullet merely hit the ice and hit the ground with a soft plink.

The ice was now around her face. "Swaine!"

"Esther! No!"

"Swa-"

Her voice was cut short. The ice had surrounded her mouth and was almost to the top of her head.

"NO!" Swaine reeled back his arm and punched the cell of ice with all of his might. And again. And again. But the ice refused to budge at his fists.

"Damnit, damnit, damnit!" He paused for a moment, his breath puffing out in clouds. "No…no…No no no no no! Esther! NO! "

_Rrrrrrr…!_

The snow tiger's growl snapped the man out of his trance of emotions. The monster raised his enormous paw and swiped it forward. Swaine leaned back so far it that his upper body was almost parallel to the floor as the paw missed him. Instead it slapped into Esther's icy coffin. Like a top, the block of ice spun around at a blinding speed until it hit the ground. As it crashed down, the ice cracked loudly, releasing Esther's body from it.

"Esther! Esther, are you okay?" Swaine ran to the heap of shattered ice and the blonde's panting body.

"Huff…huff…I-I think so…huff…" She got up on shaking legs and leaned on Swaine's shoulders slightly.

"Just take it easy. Everything's gonna be alright."

"Huff…okay…:"

Just then the beast let loose another roar, but this time it was more intense and was accompanied by a cold, harsh wind carrying snow.

"Esther, hang on!"

The couple shielded themselves from the mini snow storm with their arms around their face, but the wind still stabbed painful jolts of cold through their body-and that wasn't all. Around their feet, ice formed around their boots, their freezing fingers gripping their ankles to the ground.

"What the…" Swaine tried to take a step, but his feet were held in place by the frosty hands of ice. Esther did the same, and got the same results.

"Urgh! Umf! It's no use, our feet are stuck!"

"Damnit, I can't move!"

The monster began to take a deep breath, and its blue tongue stretched inward. A blue glow formed inside its mouth, a glow of ice and snow. Esther's sapphire eyes widened with fear before Swaine's thin arms wrapped around her body protectively.

"Swaine, what are-"

"Just hold on tight. Brace yourself."

"But we're going to fre-"

The tiger was done with its breath and readied to exhale another snow flurry at them. Swaine's grip tightened around the woman as she buried her face into his chest, against where his racing heart was. The lanky man squeezed his eyes shut, prepared for impact.

…But it never came. Just the roar of fire and a roar of pain.

"Eh?" Swaine looked up. He saw the tiger hiss with agitation as it rubbed his paw on his face, where there were a few burn marks in his fur. Esther turned her head to the other side where she was greeted by an uplifting sight.

"Hey, guys!"

Swaine turned his head around as well to the direction of the familiar voice. Behind them was the savior, the emperor, and the Lord High Lord of the Fairies.

"Oliver! Marcassin! You're okay!"

"Sorry we're late. We got held up."

"I thought you'd never get here. Think you can do something about our feet?" Swaine pointed down to their frozen boots.

Oliver pointed Astra at their feet and shot out a wave of fire. The ice hissed with defeat as it melted into a sad puddle around their boots. Esther and Swaine stepped away.

"It's about time you showed up. If you showed up any later, we would have turned into ice sculptures!"

"We're glad you guys are al-jeepers!"

"Everyone, duck!"

Obeying Marcassin's command, everybody ducked as the tiger roared out another cold gust of snowy air. He roared with fury and with a harsh volume.

"Oi, what's with kitty cat here?" Drippy yelled over the roar.

"We don't know, but if we don't show him what for, Ding Dong Dell's probably going to freeze over! We have to defeat him!"

"Okay, but how? It doesn't look like this guy is gonna let us get close enough to him to give him a proper beating."

The needles of ice from the rings around the beast's body stretched out, acting like a barrier. The fairy had a good point-close range combat would only result in everyone getting shish kebabed.

Oliver drew a complex pattern in the air and shouted, "Mornstar!"

The wand shot out a pulsing sphere of light towards the beast. It hit his head with a flash of light. The tiger roared with agony and summoned another snow storm towards them.

"Damnit, we're only aggravating him! We have to stop him once and for all or we're gonna freeze to death!"

Swaine looked to the side and found his younger brother falling on the ground. The wind had harshly pushed him to the floor and nearly sent his Imperial Scepter flying out of the sage's hand.

"Marcassin!" He kneeled down and helped the other man up.

"You okay?"

"Yes…but you're right-we have to deal with this monster quickly or else."

The tiger roared once again, showing off his blue tongue and large maw. Marcassin's green eyes widened and looked back towards Swaine's pistol.

"Swaine, I have an idea, but it concerns your gun."

"What about it?"

"…Can your pistol withstand fire for a short period of time?"

Meanwhile, Esther sent forth her beloved familiar.

"Gogo, give it your all!"

Chirping, the Electrongo spun his staff like a baton, forming sparks of lightning. A halo of electricity swirled in front of the plump bird. He suddenly pointed his staff towards his target and a ring of electric energy shot forward. Just before it hit the tiger, the cat leaped up above the shot and with outstretched claws, aimed for the familiar.

"Gogo, come back!"

Had the tamer called back her familiar any later, the bird would have become the tiger's snack.

The beast's mouth snapped nothing but air. Esther gave his snout a good kick with her long leg. He hissed, growled, and stared belligerently at the woman. She backed away a few small steps. Her back touched the cold wall and her eyes widened. She was cornered, and face to face with an enraged winter tiger. As the tiger opened his mouth, the blonde was frozen in a state of fear with large eyes.

There was then a whistle from behind. The cat's ears flickered back and whipped his head around.

"Hey, furrball! Yeah, you!" Swaine waved his arms over his head. "Why don't you try someone your own size, whiskers?" He wiggled his fingers for the cat to come closer."Watsa matter, are ya' a cat or a chicken?"

The tiger growled, and dashed away from Esther and towards the lithe man.

"Swaine, watch out!"

As the cat ran towards him, Marcassin went to Swaine's side with his staff ready at his hand.

"Alright, on your mark, Swaine."

"Right, when I count to three."

The monster flexed his large limbs for a jump...

"One…"

The tiger leaped into the air...

"Two…"

His jaw opened wide, exposing the dark blue inside of his mouth...

"THREE!"

Like a pair of synchronized swimmers, the brothers raised their weapons up. Marcassin's staff radiated a magical light that lit up Swaine's gun as well. His gun glowed with a faint red aura and a few embers flew out of the muzzle. A bullet embraced by flames flew out the pistol and charged through the icy air and right into the monster's mouth, down its throat.

The monster gulped uncertainly with baffled eyes. He suddenly coughed as if he was about to vomit. His thick legs quivered weakly as he continued to cough unevenly. At last he spat out a strange blue ball larger than a grown man's fist. It hit the ground with a heavy clank. With the mysterious orb expelled from his mouth, the tiger roared one last time before his body began to steadily turn into ice. The ice statue then melted into a deep blue liquid that lazily sat in a large puddle.

After a moment of silence, everyone seemed to come back to their senses. Swaine coolly blew the trail of smoke from his gun as Marcassin gingerly dusted off his pants.

"Hmph. So long, whiskers."

The mechanic spun the gun in his fingers before placing it back into his coat with a flourish. His brown eyes gazed over to Esther, who was staring at the blue marble that the monster coughed up.

She cautiously picked it up and cradled it in her hands. Even though it had just come from the insides of the creature, it was surprisingly dry and clean. It had a deep blue hue with sparkles of ice dotting the surface. The ball was somewhat heavy, as if it was made of marble or some other material.

"What's that, blondie?" Swaine leaned down to the ball in the woman's hands.

"Maybe if you'd ask _politely_ I'd tell you."

"Sigh...Alright." He exaggeratingly cleared his throat. "Pardon me, my lady, but may I ask what is that object in your hands?"

Esther stared up at the man. She then began to crack a smile and broke into an uncontrollable laughter.

"Pffft-ha! Hahahahaha-'my lady'-ahaha!" Her arms curled around her stomach from all the laughing, dropping the ball.

Oliver came over and picked it up. He held it to his face, seeing his blue, distorted reflection glaring back at him. Marcassin walked over to observe it as well.

"Jeepers…what is it?"

"I'm not sure…" The sage tapped his finger nail lightly on the ball's hard surface.

"Do you think it was something that tiger just ate?"

Marcassin glared at the sphere and then shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I feel some sort of energy from it. It's pulsing so steadily…almost like a heartbeat."

"So…was this its, um…heart?"

"…I'm honesty not sure…"

"Hmph, well I all know is this; whatever that cat was, it wasn't normal, mun." Drippy stood by the small pool of dark blue liquid the large cat had melted to. "I'm not sure what it was, but I've got a bad feeling in my lantern about it. Besides, what's with this creepy blue stuff?" He dipped his small hand in the dark liquid and brought it to his nose.

"Yuck! Smells proper funny, too, and it's all cold!"

Oliver placed the ball under the crook of his arm. "Maybe we should bring it back to King Tom. He might know what this ball is or something about this blue stuff."

"Ah, there's a good idea! Tidy!"

Just then there was the sound of marching paws. Everyone looked behind to the entrance of the area. Out marched King Hickory Dock with his prized staff in his paw followed by an army of regular mice. Each mouse had a hard hat of some sort-buttons, thimbles, broken shards of glass-and tiny weapons of needles, forks, and other small objects.

"Hup, two, three, four, hup, two-halt!"

The crowd of mice stopped dead in their tracks at the order of their king. Hickory stared at the scene before him; a large pool of blue liquid in the middle of the floor and Oliver and co.

"Huh? What happened here?"

"Oi, 'bout time, ratface! We just finished off the cause of all those 'white weirdoes' for ya'!"

"What?!We're too late?! Darn it!" The huge rodent threw his stick down in frustration. "I wanted to show that moron what for! Kick him, pull his whiskers, and make him pay the price for freezing me back there! Grrrr…If he ever shows up around here again, he's in for it!"

The other mice behind him also lamented with their king.

"Aw, man!"

"Darn it, I so wanted to cut that stupid tiger into pieces!"

"And I was ready for a fight this time, too!"

"Yeah-hey, wait, has anymice seen Pip?"

The mice looked amongst themselves for their friend, but failed to see him. Then Oliver pointed at a lump of snow.

"Hey, over there!"

The pile of white had a long tail sticking out from it. Swaine bent down and gave it a tug.

"Huff…huff…Alright, who taught you guys when a giant snow tiger's on the loose you just toss your friend to the side like trash?!"

"Sorry, little guy. I can assure you our mother's didn't teach us that."

Esther walked over, cupped her hands around the mouse, and gently placed him back to the ground. The spectacled mouse scurried back to his king.

"King Hickory! You're okay!"

"Of course I am! It takes more than being frozen in a block of ice to stop me!" He then shifted his eyes over to the humans. He looked down, cleared his throat, and reluctantly looked back at them.

"I can't believe I'm really saying this, but I'd be an arrogant king if I don't… Um…well…Thanks. For defeating that thing. Ridding that moron from our well and all."

Oliver stepped forward to the enormous mouse. "You're welcome, Your Majesty."

Hickory perked up his oversized ears at this. "Oh? Ah, um, good! Oh, by the way, what's with that ball?"

The rodent pointed at the blue sphere under Oliver's arm.

"We don't know. We were going to take it to His Meowjesty to see if he knew anything about it."

"Hmm, strange little ball." The king stared at it while scratching his ear with his paw. "I've seen a lot of different kinds of gems and shiny stones and a lot of stuff gets swept down here in the well, but I've never seen anything like this. I hate to admit it…but your best bet is probably taking it to the fat cat himself."

He faced the army of mice behind him. "Alright, everybody, let's go back. Come on." Waving his paw to the humans, he said, "If ya' want, I guess we can escort you to the entrance, it you want."

"Sure, mun!" Drippy bounced excitedly. "Whadya say, guys?"

Oliver and the others looked at each other and nodded.

"Okay, come on." King Hickory Dock gestured them to follow him as he strolled into the well with the humans and fairy behind him. The open area of the well was now empty except of the pool of blue blood and snow with shards of ice littering the ground.

* * *

**AN: Next update on Thursday, or Thanksgiving! Stay tuned! :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Snow Day

**Ch 5: Snow Day**

Ding Dong Dell was welcomed by light snow falling from the sky in the morning. The already cold kingdom was wrapped in a beautiful blanket of crystal white. Tiny snowflakes glistened like diamonds as they danced through the air. This beautiful sight could be seen through every window of every home of Ding Dong Dell, including the Cat's Cradle, where Marcassin stared out of a window.

"The snow is actually quite beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, maybe if we're lucky Ding Dong Dell will have a white Christmas." Oliver gazed out of the window as well, mesmerized by the simple beauty of the weather as well.

Their admiration was broken by the sound of footsteps lazily dragging along the wooden floor. They looked behind to find Swaine groggily walking along.

"Good morning, Swaine!"

"Mm…morn'…Mind pointing me to the nearest cup of coffee?"

The sage reached over to a nearby coffee table and picked up a pair of cups full of bitter, black coffee. He handed one to the sleepy man.

"Thanks…" Swaine mumbled and took a gulp of the hot beverage.

"Youer still not much of a morning person, are ya, mun?"

Swaine, now a bit more awake, shrugged at the fairy below him. "Hmph. Whatever." He suddenly looked around. "Hey, where's little miss familiar tamer?"

Oliver's eyes shifted up to the stairs that led to the inn's rooms. "She hasn't come out of her room yet, so maybe she's still sleeping?"

"Eh? But it's like what, nine in the morning? You'd think she of all people would be up by now."

"Hmmm…" Drippy's lantern leaned to the side as he cocked his head in thought. "Maybe she can't get out of bed? Like maybe she's down with something?"

Swaine stared at the stair case with concern. He walked up the steps, hollering over his shoulder, "I'll go check on her. Be right back."

With the creak of the floor boards beneath his shoes accompanying him, he made his way to her door. He gently knocked the back of his hand against the wooded door.

"Esther? You up?"

Silence.

"Esther? Ya' in there?" He knocked again, a little louder.

Nothing, not even the slightest sound from behind the door.

Giving up on this strategy, he wrapped his hand around the knob, surprised to find it unlocked. He carefully opened it and cautiously peeked in. The room was bare of its blonde occupant. The only remains of her were a simple satchel sitting on the floor by the bedside and a few sheets of music on the desk-songs to play on her harp, the man supposed.

_"But where is she? Did she just run off somewhere without telling us?"_

"Oi! What's taking you so long, mun?" Drippy yelled up the staircase. "We're not getting any younger down here, ya' know!"

Swaine ran out of the room and leaned over the stair rail overlooking the lobby and down at Drippy, Oliver, and Marcassin.

"Guys, she's gone!"

"Eh? What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"I mean blondie isn't in her room and I don't have a clue to where she is now."

Oliver and Marcassin's eyes widened.

"What? Where would she go?"

"Why would she leave without telling us?"

The cat woman who ran the receptionist desk of the inn suddenly appeared and strolled to her desk. Swaine bolted down the stairs and towards the grimalkin.

"Hey, 'scuse me, did you see a pretty blonde woman this morning?"

The grimalkin raised her hazel eyes to the man's. "Why, yes. A couple of hours ago I saw a young lady with purrty blonde hair leave the inn. When I asked her where she was going, she said she was going on a short walk for some fresh air." She raised a paw to her ear to scratch it. "But I haven't seen her since."

"A couple of hours ago? That's a bit long for a 'short walk'. Do you have any idea where she went? Any indication of where she was going?"

"No, she didn't say anything about her destination…" She pressed a pawed finger to her cheek as she stared heavenward. "I do remember she was dressed for walking out in the snow and didn't appear to carry anything with her, if that helps."

Swaine's brow scrunched down. After a second, he dashed back up the stairs.

"Don't just stand there!" Swaine shouted at the others. "Get a move on! We've gotta go find her!"

The two men and fairy looked at each other, and then ran up to their rooms as well.

About five minutes later, the men were back down to the lobby, now fully dressed in their winter garments given to them by King Tom.

"Dammit, she could be anywhere!" Swaine pulled his gloves over his hands. "There's snow all over the place-the town, outside of the gates…anywhere!"

"We should spit up-we can cover more ground that way." Marcassin said. "Oliver, you and Drippy search Ding Dong Dell. Swaine and I will check outside of the town."

Everybody nodded, agreeing to the plan. They ran out the door, and went in opposite directions-Oliver and Drippy up the path to the center of the town while Swaine and Marcassin ran towards the front gates that separated the city from the wilderness outside.

* * *

"Esther! Esther! ESTHER!"

"Eeees-theeeeerr! Eeees-theeeeerr! Where are you?"

In the middle of a snowy forest, two men hollered out to the cold winter air with gloved hands around their mouths.

"Esther! Say something already! At this rate I'm gonna lose my voice!"

"…Swaine, look at this."

"Mm?" The tall man looked down to where his younger brother was pointing. Stuck to a branch of a bush bare of leaves was a small piece of pink string.

"Hey…That string looks like it came from Esther's coat!"

Marcassin nodded. "Looks like Esther decided to come this way."

"Yeah, maybe she's nearby. Let's look around."

The duo walked further through the great outdoors with eyes peeled for their blonde friend.

"Esther! Esther, where are you? Esther!"

"…You're really concerned with where she is, aren't you?"

"Eh? Well, yeah-I mean, she could get hurt out here all by herself."

Swaine looked over to Marcassin, surprised to notice a peculiar emotion on his face.

"What? What's with the look?"

"Um… nothing."

"Well, if it's nothing, why don't ya' spit it out anyway?"

"Um…well…It involves you and Esther."

Swaine's eyebrows shot up. "Huh? How many times do I have to tell you, we're just friends, nothing more, nothing less! And that little 'peck' at the hospital five months ago was a joke by our familiars!"

The sage scratched the back of his head with down cast eyes, not sure how to put his thoughts into words.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" The mechanic suddenly blinked. "…Oh. _Oh,_ I get it now; you're planning on how to play cupid between us, eh? This is another one of your _ideas_, isn't it?"

"Um-well-er…" Marcassin helplessly stared up to the older man, who raised an eyebrow.

"…Alright, I give up. I…I just wanted to know if you had any feelings towards her before I-um-'played cupid', as you described it."

"Man, you just don't give up, do you? And here I thought you were just giving me a hard time and trying to get me to admit it just for the fun of it." Swaine shrugged but then placed a hand on his younger brother's shoulder and looked him in the eye.

"I know you've got good intentions, but you can leave it to me. If I ever come across someone, um, 'special', then I'll handle it myself, at my own pace. I mean, I'm a fully grown man-I'm sure I could manage a relationship on my own." He chuckled. "Even though I have zero dating experience…But anyway, you should worry more about yourself. Hamelin is gonna need a queen sooner or later."

He patted the younger man on the back and gave him a smirk. Marcassin smiled and nodded back.

"I see. Doing things…the 'Gascon way'?"

The taller man lightly punched his fist on top of Marcassin's head. "It's Swaine, for Pete's sake. Ya' need me to noogie that into your skull again?"

"Oh, no, no, that won't be necessary."

Swaine raised his fist from the sage's head.

"…I'm gonna do things my way; the 'Swaine way', I guess."

"Alright, the Swaine wa…wait, do you hear something?"

"Eh?" The two were quiet for a moment, using their ears. They listened for anything in the nippy forest air.

"…Chirp, Chi-chirp!"

"Come on, Gogo, just a little further!"

Swaine's eyes widened. "That's Esther!" He quickly whipped his head around and ran in the direction of the voices with Marcassin right behind him.

The men came to the top of a small hill overlooking a clearing in the woodsy area. The once perfect blanket of snow was covered in footprints and trenches where Esther and Gogo had pushed balls of snow into large spheres. In the middle of the clearing was a pair of huge snowballs stacked on top of each other, the bottom one a little bigger than the bottom.

"Okay, Gogo, help me lift the head!"

Tweeting eagerly, the bird stretched out his wings around the ball with Esther's hands. They slowly lifted it up and placed it on top of the other snowballs.

"She came all the way out here just to build a snowman? Is she nuts or something?"

Marcassin stared curiously at the snowman in progress. "I don't know, but it I'm glad she's okay." He began to make his way down the slope before Swaine's calloused hand pulled him back by his shoulder.

"Wait," he said with a mischievous sparkle in his eye. "I got an idea."

Meanwhile, Esther patted down the snow around the snowman's body, smoothing the surface. She pulled out some small, dark rocks from her pocket and stuck two on the head. She arranged the rest of them in a smile where the mouth would be. Reaching into her other pocket, she grabbed a crunchy carrot and stuck it in the middle.

"There! Now you have a face!"

The woman stood back a step to admire her new frosty friend. Her familiar chirped and held up two sturdy branches up to her. The tamer took the sticks and pushed them into the snowman's sides. The sculpture of snow now had two outstretched arms of wood.

"Alright, we did it!" She cheered with delight as she jumped in the air. Gogo joined her until something white and fast smashed into his back, forcing him back to the cold ground beak first.

"SQUAWK!"

"Gogo! What hap-ow!"

Esther turned around, rubbing her back where she felt a lump of snow. She eyed her surroundings warily before another projectile hit her.

"Hey!" Her head whipped around, only to find no culprit in sight. Shifting her line of sight left and right, she crept down and scooped up a handful of snow and patted it into a sphere. Now armed, she took on a fighting stance with her arm ready to release the snowball.

…_Snap!_

"Ha!" The woman swiftly turned around and threw her snowball without thinking. The ball hit a man with long black hair in the face.

"Oomph!"

"Take tha-"**-piff!-**"Hey!"

Esther spun to where the surprise snowball came from to find a lithe figure in a green coat standing behind a tree.

"What's up, babana girl?"

"Swaine? What are you doing here? And what's with the snowballs?"

"We were looking for you and found ya' playin' in the snow." His eyes rested over her shoulder where Marcassin was wiping snow from his face.

"If only I hadn't stepped on that twig…"

"Marcassin? That was you?"

The sage stood up, dusting his pants. "W-well, it was Swaine's idea…"

The blonde glared at Swaine. "So you thought it'd be a good idea to start bombarding me with snowballs out of the blue?!"

"Hey, easy there, Esther," he held his hands up defensively. "Anyway, what the heck are you doing out here in the first place?"

She blushed lightly. "Um, uh, well I…w-went for a short walk! Yeah, for some fresh air!"

His left eyebrow went up an inch. "You woke up at about seven in the morning to go for a simple walk and some fresh air? Seems a bit farfetched, if you ask me."

Her eyes drifted downward as she kicked some snow. "Um…okay, you caught me; I was playing in the snow. We never have snow back home, and I haven't been in it for ages …I wanted to do all those things kids do in the snow that kids do. Building snowmen, making snow figures in the snow, that sort of thing."

She hunched her shoulders. "I…I thought if you guys knew, then you'd make fun of me for acting like a child or whatever…"

"So…you escaped early this morning under our sleeping noses to mess around in the snow, eh?"

She nodded, not daring to make eye contact yet.

"I-I didn't mean to make you guys worry. I just lost track of time, I guess…"

She felt a hand being placed gently on her shoulder. Esther looked up to the man, surprised by the soft emotion his eyes held.

"Hey, it's no big deal. If you wanted to mess around in the snow that badly, you could've of asked us. Sure, I would have given you a hard time for a while, but you don't have to go sneaking behind our backs about it."

"…R-Really?"

Marcassin came over and gave her a reassuring smile. "Yes, there's no need to go run off without us to play in the snow. Why, we could have all gone out for a snow day."

Esther looked from the sage to the mechanic. Swaine smirked in agreement with a nod. The woman smiled.

"Okay. Thank you, guys…By the way, where's Oliver and Drippy?"

"Still in town looking for you, I guess. We split up to search for ya'."

She turned around and took a few steps. As she bent over into the snow, she said, "Oh, I see…Hey, you know what else I also wanted to do in the snow?"

"Um…Catch snowflakes on your tongue?"

"Nope!" She spun back to them with a pair of snowballs in her hands and continued, "A snowball fight!"

Esther threw the balls of white into the men's faces and they hit them with dull piffs.

"Oof! Hey, no fair!"

Esther shrugged her shoulders and ran off in the opposite direction, forming another snowball in her arms.

"Oh, now you're in for it!" Swaine grabbed a handful of snow and used his other hand to pull out his pistol. He stuffed the white ammo into the gun and dashed off in the direction Esther went.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Swaine surveyed his surroundings for his target with his loaded gun ready. "I know you're hiding here somewhere!"

_Piff!_

"Hey!" He spun on his heels and came face to face with Esther, who confidently held another snowball.

"Trying to shoot a lady with a gun? Doesn't seem very gentlemanly, Swaine."

"Hey, everything's fair in love and war, right?"

He pulled on the trigger. A snowball flew out of the muzzle with a muffled pow, and then nearly hit the woman in the shoulder.

"Close. But you're going to have to aim better than that to win this war!" The snowball in her hand shot out towards the man's face, caking his face in white snow.

"Oh no you don't, you get back here!" His arm shoveled out another pile of snow and loaded his gun with the icy ammo as he dashed after her yet again.

Esther's boots beat against the soft ground as she ran. She paused, scooped up another ball, and launched it behind her. It whizzed by Swaine's head while he smirked.

"Nice try, Esther. Now get a load of this!" His finger was about to squeeze the trigger when a projectile hit him in the side of his face.

"Ack, cold!" He shook his head and glared at Esther, who stared at him just as curiously.

"Hey, it wasn't me that time! Honest!" Just then a blur of white crashed into her cheek.

"Aah, hey!" When she and Swaine looked to the side where the mystery snowballs had flew from, they found Marcassin standing on a small hill. He remained silent, not sure what to say.

"Um…three can play at that game!"

The tamer and the ex-thief looked at each other. Sly grins appeared on their faces with mischievous gleams in their eyes.

"Touché!"

"Oh dear…" As the emperor ran as fast as his legs would allow him, Swaine and Esther chased after him, firing snowballs towards him. He ran past some trees and up a hill. He paused on top of the hill, panting for breath. Looking down the in the direction he just ran from, he saw the duo making their way quickly up the hill.

"Uh oh!" He pushed off his left leg and sprinted away. Meanwhile his chasers made it to where he once stood while heavily breathing.

"Oi, Esther," Swaine tapped Esther's shoulder, "Look." He pointed at a fallen tree that was broken down into half with a wide trench down the middle big enough for several people to sit in.

The man looked at the woman with cocked eyebrows and a smirk, silently asking for approval of the idea. Esther grinned and nodded.

"…huff…huff…huff…I've got to… get back… into shape…huff…" Marcassin leaned against a black bark tree as his lungs pumped heavily for oxygen. Just then he heard a sound behind him. With a raised eyebrow, he looked behind him, only to have the other eyebrow raised as well.

Sliding towards him at lightning speed was Esther and Swaine in a half-tree trunk like a toboggan.

"Wheeeeee! This is great!" Esther cheered with hands raised above her head.

"Hey, Marcassin, better watch out, 'cause here we come!" Swaine aimed his gun to his brother, who stood in his spot with utter surprise.

He jumped to the side just in time as the sled slid right past him, leaving him in the dust-or snow, in this case.

"Whoa! Hey, Swaine, we went right past him! What do we do now?"

"Never mind that-look out!"

The man pointed right in front of them, where a giant tree stood in their path.

"Oh no! Swaine, hang on tight and lean to the left!"

The man obeyed her directions and leaned to the side with her. The tree zipped past them on their right.

"Phew! That was close!"

"Don't just sit there, keep your eyes up ahead!"

"Huh-whoa! Quick, to the right!"

The sled of wood snaked its way through, in between, and around various trees and obstacles as the two dashed through the blinding white snow. As Esther shouted orders for when and where to lean, the man behind her followed her directions as they steered their trunk over the snow.

The background blurred past them until the sled glided straight towards a sharp ramp of land. It zoomed upwards and sent the couple flying though the air.

"Whooooaaaa!"

With muffled crunches they landed into the fluffy snow below as their makeshift sled collapsed to the side.

"Oof…You okay, Esther?" Swaine raised his head.

The desert woman turned her blue eyes up to him, noticing the lumps of snow stuck in his curly brown hair in a wet mess.

"Of course I'm okay! I've just had the ride of my life!"

He smiled and laid back into the snow, face up into the grey sky. Esther did the same and stared at the blanket of cloud on the sky.

"…I have to admit that was the most fun I've had in ages." Swaine said simply, not looking over to the lady.

"Yeah…Remenber when we got shot out of that canon into Drippy's mother's tummy?"

"Yep, although I don't exactly put that under the 'fun' department."

Esther giggled. "Yeah, but that jump reminded me of that. Of old times."

"Mm-hmm…" He lazily pointed his gun heavenward. "What did you think of your first official snowball fight?"

"Loved it. I never knew throwing balls of snow at each other could be so much fun." She placed her hands on her stomach. "Even though it's a 'fight'…it feels more like a fun game you play with your friends. It's not a war, but …it's…" She searched her brain for the right word. "…It's not a war out of hatred, but like a friendly war out of friendship…if that makes any sense."

"…I think it does. It's a nice way to put it." He pulled the trigger and the remaining snow in the gun shot out and dispersed into millions of beautiful snowflakes falling all around them.

"Like I said before, everything's fair in love and war, ain't it?"

Esther was silent, lost in the lovely snowflakes falling down as the man's words echoed through her head.

"_Everything's fair in love and war, ain't it?"_

The mention of these words unlocked a memory from five months ago that she had stashed away in her heart.

_Everything's fair in love and war…Everything's fair in love…fair in love…_

* * *

_"Swaine, are you awake?" Esther lightly touched the shoulder of the lanky man sleeping in the hospital bed. He was locked away in a deep slumber, but then again, who wouldn't be this early in the morning? Only a handful of Hamelin's industrial citizens were awake at this hour, and even the hospital only had a couple people on staff at this time._

_ "Swaine…I know it's really early in the morning, but I have to go back home. There's a storm brewing outside, and my father and I have to get home before the storm gets so bad that Tengri can't fly through."_

_ She gently stroked his messy hair. "Thank you again for saving us back there. I…I hope we can see each other again sometime. I'm sorry we can't say a proper good bye with you awake." She chuckled. "Well, good bye, Swaine. Get better soon, and take better care of yourself."_

_ She walked over to the door, paused, and looked back. He was breathing calmly, his chest rising and falling steadily. His eyes were hidden behind tired eyelids and the stubble on his chin crept up along his jaw. He was so still…so touchable in this state…_

_ She blushed slightly at the memory of the…peculiar peck she had given him just a week before. After the incident, they had not spoken about it. They simply talked with each other as they normally did as if it had never happened. _

_ She gazed at Swaine with longing, confusion, and regret. She was hoping they would have…resolved it…or something by the time she had left, but now it was too late. Would this mean things would be awkward the next time they met? Painful pauses in conversations of uncertainty?_

_ She shook her head. She knew her father was waiting for her back in the hospital lobby and she didn't want to keep him waiting. Maybe it was best to just keep quiet about it and let it resolve itself._

_ Glancing at him one last time, she quietly opened the door and walked through it, closing it behind her._

_ …Was everything really fair in love, or was it simply a complicated game played by cupid or some other worldly force?_

* * *

"Esther? Esther, are you alright?"

"Yo, babana girl, you with us?"

She blinked. "What?" Now out of her daydream and back in reality, she found herself staring up at Marcassin, who looked down at her lying in the snow.

"Are you okay? You were just lying there and not responding…"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" She turned her head to her left to see Swaine with his back still in the snow. He smirked, glad that she was back on earth.

Marcassin took a few steps and fell backwards into the snow with legs that had run out of energy to hold him up any longer.

"Phew…I'm exhausted."

"What-did you run down after us the entire time?"

"Yes…And I discovered that I'm out of shape…"

The trio laughed. They were lying in the snow in a circle while facing the sky.

"Hey…you know what else I wanted to do in the snow?"

Swaine raised an eyebrow. "What, another snowball fight?"

"Nope."

"Try skiing?"

"Uh-uh."

"Then what?"

The woman stretched out her limbs and waved them back and forth in the white snow.

"Snow figures."

"Ah…I should have guessed."

"You guys should do it too!"

"What? No way."

She waved her limbs faster. "C'mon, it's fun!"

"Nah…"

"Hmph. Stick in the snow."

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"Okay, calm down, you two." Marcassin called out. "There's no need to bicker over a few snow figures." Once he had finished his sentence, he began to move his limbs back and forth. Even though his legs felt like lead, he still managed to weakly use them to make the shape in the snow.

"See, Swaine? Marcassin's doing it." Esther pointed her blue eyes at Swaine.

He sighed in defeat. "Okay, okay, I get it, don't get your knickers in a twist." Slowly he pumped his arms and legs in the ground. After a few moments, the trio got up from the ground and looked at the three silhouettes in the snow.

"You know, I was talking with Oliver earlier and he said that he and his friends do the same thing back home, but they call them 'snow angels'." Marcassin bent over his shape while Swaine scratched his stubble.

"Hmm…yeah, I guess they do look a bit like angels." He shifted his gaze to the other two snow 'angels'.

Esther's shape was the fullest with wide wings and curved outwards where her legs pushed away the snow. Swaine's, on the other hand, was a bit longer and thin-lanky, just like him. Marcassin's wasn't as full as Esther's but not as long as Swaine's-it was somewhere in between, average.

"Don't they look pretty?"

"I suppose, babana girl."

"Sigh…you're never going to stop it with that nickname, are you?"

He shrugged. "Hey, it suits you. That braid of yours back then resembled a babana and you're always eating those stupid fruit-ow!"

He was cut off as Esther tossed a small snowball at his face. "My hair was perfectly fine back then and so what if I like to eat babanas? My father sells them."

"You are what you eat."

"Hmph. If that's the case then I guess I can tell what you've been eating recently."

"Oh yeah? What?"

"Chicken! Because you're a chicken!"

A vein pulsed angrily on Swaine's head. "Haha, very amusing."

"Haha-ooh, or maybe beef! Maybe your cowardness is from all the cow meat you eat!"

"Okay, now you're in for it!" He scooped up a large pile of snow and tossed the large snowball at her. She jumped away with a surprised yelp.

"You're going to have to catch me first!" The tamer ran off.

"Oh no, not on my watch!" Kicking up some snow, he sprinted after her with a lopsided smile.

While the couple raced ahead, towards Ding Dong Dell, Marcassin said, "Swaine, Esther, wait! Can't we simply walk for a bit?" He outstretched his well manicured hand out to stop them, but his breath was wasted-they were already a good dozen yards away, absorbed in their friendly battle of words.

"Sigh…I guess not."

The Great Sage walked in the same direction that they had darted off. His legs were still numb from the running and didn't have the fuel to go at that speed at the moment. As he plodded through the snow, his footprints stamped the blanket of white.

* * *

"Huff…huff…You want to… call truce?"

"Sure…huff…As soon as I …catch my breath…"

Esther and Swaine bent over with arms pressed against their knees as they panted heavily for sweet oxygen. They were just inside the gates of Ding Dong Dell.

"Phew…I'm beat."

"You can say that again." The man straightened his posture and flexed his back. "Hey, you think pretty boy's okay?"

"Well, he'll probably get here sooner or later. I think he'll be fine."

"Yeah…We should find Oliver and Drippy, they're probably turning the town inside out just to find you."

At that very moment, there was a loud crash, followed by some other bizarre shouts and a distressed meow.

"Oi! 'Scuse me! Coming through!"

There were more bonks and shatters as something charged through the streets before the two caught a glimpse of the source of the racket-and running straight at them.

"Look out, Lord High Lord of the Fairies coming thr-whoa!" Drippy screeched to a halt at Esther's feet.

"Oi, Esther, there you are! We've been turning Ding Dong Dell on its flipping ear to find you! Where the flip have you been, lass?"

"Oh, um, I went for a short walk!"

Swaine rolled his eyes and mumbled into her ear. "You know, that excuse is getting kinda old."

"Oh, shut it." She snapped back quietly.

The fairy shook his lantern, oblivious to the silent bickering. "Well, the next time you pull a stunt like that, at least leave a note or somethin'! You have any idea how worried we were?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you guys so much."

"Well, never mind that, come on!" Drippy waved his arm and motioned for them to follow.

"Why, where we goin'?" Swaine asked.

"Remember that funny looking sphere we got from tiger face in the well? His Meowjesty says there's something up with it!"

"Eh? What do you mean, 'something's up with it'?"

"Not sure, but we need to all check it out, pronto!" Drippy looked around. "Hey, speaking of which, where's Marcy?"

"Still out there in the snow. We kinda left him in the dust when we ran off…"

"Okay then, you two get going to the castle, I'll go get Prince-a-ling! Look lively, mun!" Not wasting another moment, he hopped off faster than you could say 'proper tidy, mun!'.

Swaine and Esther could only stare at each other with confusion before the man shrugged.

"Guess this means we're off to see his Meowjesty again."

Esther nodded and walked with him.

"What do you think is up with that stone?"

"Dunno, but the sooner we get to the castle, the sooner we'll find out."


	6. Chapter 6: The Snow of Wrath

**Ch6:** **The Snow of Wrath**

As the blonde and the lanky man walked up the path, their boots crunched against the snow. Their footprints left behind five inch deep holes in the snow in the shape of feet.

"Hey, Swaine? You remember that tiger monster from the well and how we thought it might have been responsible for the cold we've been getting?"

"Yeah."

"I'm starting to think it wasn't responsible for this snow after all. Not completely anyway."

Swaine gazed upward to the sky of falling snowflakes. "Yeah, it's been snowing almost this entire time. You'd think if tiger face was the reason behind this ice age the snow would have gone away with him."

"…I wonder how everyone back home's doing…I hope my father's okay."

He was quiet for a moment before he gently placed a hand on her shoulder with a slight smile.

"…I'm sure they're fine. I wouldn't worry too much about it."

She shifted her sapphire eyes towards his, and a small smile grew on her face as well.

"Okay."

"Good!"

There was then the sound of running feet coming towards them. Oliver jogged down the cobblestone road to his friends. His eyes lit up when he noticed the tamer.

"Esther! You're okay! We were so worried about you!"

"I'm sorry, Oliver, I, um, went out to play in the snow."

He sighed with relief. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"…Ahem." Swaine cleared his throat. "Hate to break up the sappy reunion, but isn't there something more important going on right now? Something's up with that weird blue ball?"

"Oh! Yeah, you guys should see this, too-wait, where's Mr. Drippy and Marcassin?"

"Oi, come on, mun! Get a move on! We don't have all flipping day!"

A loud welsh voice exploded through the winter air. As the trio looked behind their backs, they caught sight of The Lord High Lord of the Fairies dashing up the path with a weary Marcassin walking the best he could with his tired legs.

"C'mon, mun, it's not much further! Just up ahead!"

"I'm walking as fast as I can, Drippy…"

"Then run or something, mun!" Drippy bombastically said, jumping along. He leaped right in front of Oliver.

"Oi, Ollie-boy! Looks like the whole gang's here!"

"Uh-huh." Oliver approached the Hamelin sage. "Marcassin, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine…" He took a slow, wavering step with his weak legs.

"Wait a minute, Marcassin." Oliver stopped him. He pulled out Astra from his wand case and drew a symbol in the air in front of the sage. A blue light wrapped its way around Marcassin as he felt a healing rush of energy flow down his body-and his sore legs. When the light faded, his legs no longer felt like they were full of lead, but full of energy.

"Do you feel better?" Oliver asked. Marcassin nodded and took another step, this time more strongly.

"Yes, I'm much better. Thank you, Oliver."

"Ah, I get it," Drippy nodded his red lantern. "You used Healing Touch! I taught you well, buntin'. Ya' make this old fairy proper proud!"

Before the wizard could respond, there was a loud crash from the castle and a noisy meow.

"Yeow! Good heavens, it's going absolutely insane!"

"Your Meowjesty, look out!"

_Crash! Bonk, bonk! Crash!_

"Get back here, you troublesome sphere, you! One demands it!" King Tom's voiced hissed menacingly.

After a few bonks, a window from a high floor shattered open with a hard blue sphere flying out of it with shattered glass. It hit the harsh ground and as it made contact with it, a shock wave of ice burst out from where it had landed. The orb bounced forward, sending out more circles of frost on the pavement.

"What the-What the hell is with it?! It's moving all by itself!"

The ball shot up and nearly hit Swaine in the gut had he not jumped to the side. Swaine regarded the orb with shock as it hopped up and down, as if it was frustrated-as if it had a mind of its own.

"H-How can something that heavy move about by itself?"

The blue object spun around to the feminine voice of Esther. It gleamed with her reflection coldly. Without hesitation, it shot up to the height of three stories. The woman could only stare with fear as gravity pulled the orb down swiftly towards her.

Just before it reached her, someone pushed her strongly to the side. As Esther fell on her side, the ball hit Oliver's head with a dull bonk. His blue eyes were wide for a split second before they drooped close as his body lost consciousness.

"Oliver!" Esther shouted as his knees buckled and he hit the ground. The young man was officially k. . And the orb wasn't even warmed up yet. Not wasting any time, it rolled at a blinding speed right into Marcassin's foot.

"Whoa!" He lost his balance and fell onto his back. Before he could get up the orb did a circle around his body. Shackles of ice clamped around his wrists and ankles, holding him in his place. He struggled with all his might, but he was hopelessly rooted to the surface.

The orb spun towards the remaining three-Drippy, Esther, and Swaine.

"Oi, you! Yeah, you!" The fairy stepped forward, challenging the ball. "Why don't you try someone youer own size?"

"…..."

"…Oh, flip."

The ball chased furiously after Drippy, hot on his tidy heels. They dashed around the square, becoming blurs against the snow covered pavement.

"Oi, Esther, Swaine, do somethin'!"

Swaine pulled out his pistol and aimed. "With pleasure," he said with a peculiar smirk.

_**Pow!**_ "Oi, close!" _**Pow!**_ "Whoa, that one almost hit me!"_**Pow!**_"Ow, you skinned me bum, mun!"

"Wait…you're not aiming for the ball, are you?" Esther glared at the man.

"Maybe so, or maybe not. I'm just shooting my gun." He loaded another slug into the pistol.

"Don't tell me you've been aiming for Drippy this entire time…"

_**Pow!**_"Well, can you blame me?"

She smacked her forehead. "Oh, brother…"

"Hey, this isn't the time or place to be shooting youers truly!" Drippy continued to run from the enraged ball. "Just do something about this flipping thing! _Without_ shootin' me!"

Suddenly Esther snatched the pistol from Swaine's hand.

"What the heck are you doing?!"

She aimed the best she could. "If you won't shoot it, I will!"

"…Do you even know how to use a gun, Esther?"

She blinked. "…Um…no."

Sighing, he slowly got behind her, stretched his arms out past Esther's shoulders, and curled his hands carefully around hers as she held the pistol.

The blonde gasped softly at this touch. She could still feel his calloused fingertips pressing lightly on her skin though the gloves. Had the gloves been off, she would have noticed their warmth. She did notice, however, his warm breath against her ear.

"Okay, just keep your hand steady and leave this to me."

"O-Okay."

"You ready now, mun?" Drippy hollered. "Then here we come!"

He made a sharp turn to his right, making the ball follow him as he darted in front of the couple.

"Ready…"

From Esther's line of sight, the ball was centimeters away from the muzzle of the gun.

**POW!**

The bullet flew from the barrel and pierced the ball head on, shattering it into sharp, jagged pieces of stone. The shards of blue spilled out onto the snow.

"Phew, 'bout time." Drippy wiped his forehead of sweat. "You think that-eh-'killed it'?"

The man gently took the gun from Esther's hands and bent over the shattered remains of the rampaging ball. "It's not moving anymore, so I guess so."

The pieces suddenly started to vibrate faintly, shivering. The three crept closer to the mess, observing.

The quivering shards began to glow faintly, and projected a screen of lights above it, like a mini aurora light show. The colors melted into tiny shapes, forming a blurry picture. Esther and Swaine squinted, trying to squeeze some sense out of the image.

Faint white blobs and dark cone shapes arranged themselves on the screen of light. Pale and dark hues of blue painted themselves along the landscape. Familiar silhouettes of people in Eskimo coats appeared with furry tomtes.

"Wait…isn't that Yule?"

"Yeah, I think it is, lass!"

"But why is the stone-"

Swaine was cut off as the image transformed into a picture of darkness, as if someone was dying the snow jet black with dark ink. A pair of eerie blue lights flashed, like a pair of evil eyes. They became slits, glaring into their souls. Then the picture sliced into several pieces as if some outside force was so disgusted with them that it ripped the light with sharp claws.

"…Blimey, what the flip was that?"

"I dunno, but I don't like it." Swaine scratched his curly hair. "I was pretty sure that _was_ Yule, but I'm not sure what the heck the rest of that was about."

"Guys, look!"

Esther pointed at the shards as they hissed with some sort of steam and blackened. Once it was completely black, it became a puff of thick smoke. The fumes drifted upwards and disappeared as the wind pushed it away.

"…What was that?"

"Beats me. My money's on some kinda magic, but I'm not sure. Magic is Marcassin's department."

There was a pause in the air as Swaine's last phrase sank in.

"…Marcassin!"

"Oliver!"

"Crikey, I clean forgot about them! Come on!"

Running as fast as their legs would allow, the three quickly made their way back to where Oliver had collapsed and Marcassin had been stuck. They were still in the same position-Oliver lying on his front, and Marcassin stuck on his back.

As Esther crouched over to the young wizard, Swaine bent down and tried to pull the shackles of ice from his brother's hands.

"Hurg…hurg…dammit, can't you just cast some fire spell and melt these off?"

"I can't summon magic without a wand, and even if I did, I don't think I could draw the symbol properly with my arm bound by my wrist." Marcassin raised his hand slightly from the shackle, demonstrating its limited mobility.

"Hang on a sec, Marcy." Drippy jumped over to his left ankle. Opening a tiny door to his lantern, he shook his nose, sending a few embers onto the frozen shackle. The ice surrendered to the heat and slowly became water.

"There ya go, try to break it now."

Obeying the fairy's command, Marcassin tugged at his leg. The ice cracked and after a few more pulls, his leg broke free. Repeating this process with his other limbs, the Great Sage was now able to lift himself off the ground.

Meanwhile, Esther was still gently shaking Oliver's shoulders, trying to bring him back among the living again. The other three men came over and stared with anxious eyes.

"Oliver…Oliver, wake up!"

"…"

"Oliver, please, open your eyes!"

"…"

Swaine scratched his stubble in thought before an idea crossed his mind. Mischievously smirking, he tugged at Oliver's ear and said rather loudly, "Hey look, it's Myrtle in a swimsuit!"

"Huh?!" The wizard's eyes shot open as he sat up, alert. "Where? Where?"

Everyone was still until the young man realized what had happened and blushed a bright pink.

"Bahahaha! Oh boy, that was hilarious! Hahaha-'where, where?'-hahaha!"

"Hohoho, oi, that was a good one, mun! Hohoho!"

Marcassin could only slap his face as Drippy and Swaine rolled in the snow with laughter. Esther crossed her arms and deadpanned out with a pout, "…I'll just pretend I didn't hear that."

Oliver merely bent his head over in shame with a red face, praying that he could turn himself invisible.

"Anyway…" Esther said, "Are you okay, Oliver?"

"Um, I think so…My head hurts, though…"

"Well, that's no surprise." Drippy, still a little teary eyed from his laughter, hopped on his shoulder. "After all, you had a bowling ball hit you right on the noggin! Let me have a look, Ollie-boy." The fairy gently hopped onto Oliver's head and ran his small hand along the boy's head.

"…Oi, you've got a pretty bad bump here, buntin'. You need an ice pack or somethin'!"

Marcassin reached over to the snow, patted the white fluff into a firm lump, and handed it to the wizard.

"Will this suffice?"

Oliver took the handmade ice pack and pressed against his head. The numbness made the pain less severe. He nodded.

"Thank you, Marcassin. That was a neat idea!" He scratched his brown mop of hair. "Speaking of that 'bowling ball', where is it now?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. We gave that thing what for." Swaine planted his hands on his hips and flashed a cocky smirk. "That thing's ancient history."

"But about that orb..." Esther interjected. "When we destroyed it, it showed an image of Yule."

"A picture of Yule? How? And why?"

"Beats me, buntin'. I saw it too, with my own eyes. But what I do know is this-or think, anyway." The welsh fairy paced a few steps and spun around dramatically. "We gotta go check out Yule! It showed up for some reason, and I say we go find what that reason is!"

Marcassin helped Oliver to his feet as he held the snowpack to his head. "Alright, we'll leave as soon as we get Oliver to a doctor. I'm still worried about that head injury…"

"Well then, let's get a shuntin', buntin's! There's a clinic just down the street!"

* * *

Sitting on the bed of the inn room, Esther brushed her golden hair with a well loved pink brush. Besides her was her satchel encasing her harp and other necessities. It was almost full, but was waiting patiently for its master's last item besides the brush.

Once her hair was tangle free she gingerly stuffed the brush into the bag. Standing up, she walked over to the desk, where sheets of music laid. Her delicate fingers picked the papers up and raised them to her face. In her handwriting, music notes littered the musical score and underneath it were words with each note. She blushed faintly as she silently mouthed the lyrics to herself. The piece was titleless and had no name but was obviously composed by someone with great care. She held the dog-eared pages to her chest, as if it was worth more than all the gold in the world. Silently she slipped the sheets into the satchel.

_Knock, knock_ "Hey, you ready to go, blondie?"

"Try some patience, prince of swine!"

"Okay, okay, calm down. No need to get your knickers in a twist."

Esther huffed behind the door. _"He never changes…_" And she had just gingerly slipped the music into her bag. _"How ironic that he's annoying me the very moment I'm dealing with __**that**__…"_

She walked to the door and pulled at the knob. Behind the large piece of wood was the familiar lithe man leaning casually on the wall opposite of the door.

"Took you long enough. We were going to leave without you."

She shut the door, ignoring his words. "So Oliver's well enough to come?"

"Yeah, the grimalkin doc said he'd be fine as long as he doesn't push himself too far and take some medicine when he gets a headache."

"…What if he has to push himself while we're at Yule? Like what if there's another monster there?"

The man looked to the side for a moment before he answered. "Then I guess the rest of us will have to pick up the slack."

"Okay…I just don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Hmm?"

She fiddled with her long bangs of hair. "It's just… Christmas day will be here in just four days and here we all are, fighting monsters and busy saving the world again. This is supposed to be a time of joy and peace, but this cold is making everything go wrong. And Oliver originally came here to find a gift for his girlfriend, but now he's out risking his life again for all of us."

Swaine had genuine concern on his face at her words. He opened his mouth, but paused, not sure what to say to comfort her. Before he got a chance to reassure her at all, she shook her head and plastered a fake smile on her face like nothing was wrong.

"I'm sorry, I'm just rambling on without thinking now. Let's go. Oliver and the others are waiting for us!"

She dashed down the hall to the stairs. The man stared after her. He smacked his hand over his brown eyes with a low growl.

"Dammit…I can't even comfort her…"

"_Prince of Swine? More like Prince of Cowards. Idiotic, stupid, cowards."_

"…Swaine? Aren't you coming?"

Esther's voice brought him back to reality. She had a foot on the first top step of the stairs and twisted her torso to see him.

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm coming."

_ "Scratch that-Prince of Morons. Stupid, chicken, goddamn morons."_

While the couple made their way down, the snow outside began to grow heavier. Light flurries of white fell to the ground and blanketed the kingdom in an even thicker blanket of snow.

* * *

The roar of the snow-dotted wind pushed rudely past the flying dragon as he flapped his wings, trying to overcome the icy breath of Mother Nature. Oliver held on tightly to Tengri's collar and raised his other arm over his face to shield his eyes from the snow. Esther and the others did the same as they clung onto the reptile for dear life.

"Damnit, we'll never get there at this rate!" Swaine cursed through clattering teeth.

"Boy, you can say that again, mun! I'm freezing my bits off here!" Drippy huddled himself into a ball against the biting cold.

The wind shoved against the dragon once again. Oliver grunted with discomfort.

"Everyone, just hang on! We're almost there!"

Oliver gave Tengri a gentle squeeze with his ankles and the dragon waved his wings harder. He looked down to the ground below him through the fog of the storm below them. The shape of the winter isles were barely seen-it was more like looking at large blobs of white against a pool of dark blue from the sea. Tengri cried uncertainly.

"…Hm…"

"Oliver, what's wrong?" Esther shouted over the wind.

"I can't see a safe place to land. And this storm is only making it worse!"

Tegri struggled to fly against the wind as it continued to push him around.

"Oliver, we should try to land somewhere else. Maybe we can try the other isles where the wind isn't as strong and wait out the storm."

"Okay…Come on, Tengri, we're turning around!"

"Kyah!" The purple animal changed its direction to go south, along with the wind.

What a big mistake that was.

The wind began to rapidly change direction and punched the travelers with icy gusts. The dragon could no longer control where he was going, floundering in the air.

"Whoa! Everyone, hang on tight!"

Oliver's steering become more like a hanging on for dear life. They were pushed up, down, to the side, shaking violently. The dragon jerked against the wind. Everyone held on the scales of Tengri as if their lives depended on it.

There was something strange with the wind…It was targeting the travelers as if it was purposely trying to reduce them to nothing. The white flakes in the air swirled together into little flurries that gradually formed the shapes of hands with pointed fingers. They balled into fists and literally flew past to punch them out of the air.

"Yikes!" Drippy ducked under a punch. "What the flip, mun?! This ain't tidy at all!"

"This snowstorm…It isn't normal…"

"Huh?! What did you say?" Swaine yelled at his brother over the loud growl of the wind.

"I said this snowstorm isn-" A frosty fist flew towards the sage's head. Swaine didn't even hear Marcassin.

"Marcassin, get down!" The lithe man pulled his younger brother low to the dragon, missing the punch. Unfortunately it hit Swaine instead.

The snow exploded into his head with a dull pow. To the man, the impact sounded like a bomb going off in his brain, slowly causing it to explode. For a split second everything was dead silent and a blurry mess flashed before his eyes. Then his body grew weak and his vision went dark as if a fog of black was slowly being pulled over his eyes. His slack body slid from the dragon and towards the ground below.

"SWAINE!" Esther reached out her hand and gripped at his wrist. She pulled back with all of her strength, but gravity refused to let this woman win. The unconscious man dangled from the side by her delicate hand. This unusual weight made it even harder for Tengri to avoid the punches of the storm.

Oliver gripped onto the dragon's collar. He shouted over his shoulder, "Esther, get Swaine back onto Tengri's back!"

"I'm trying!" The tamer wrapped her other hand around his hand. The only thing keeping on the dragon were her long legs.

Just then Tengri turned to the right sharply, inclining his body to the side. Esther slid off of the dragon's back, still clutching Swaine's limp hand.

"AAAHHH!"

"Esther!" Marcassin's outstretched hand reached for her ankle but her foot escaped his fingers as she fell.

"NO!"

Esther's scream pierced the air but faded steadily as her body grew smaller, farther away, heading downwards.

"Esther! No!"

"Oi, Ollie-boy, steer Tengri somewhere safe and don't look back. I'm goin' in!"

"What?! But-"

"Geronimo!" With a tidy jump, the fairy dove over and down, out of sight.

"Mr. Drippy!"

Another strong gust of wind shot into Oliver's face. Tengri sneezed and flapped his wings even harder.

"…Oliver, Drippy is right. We can't look for them in this storm. We have to get somewhere safe!"

The wizard's eyes widened with shock before he took a deep breath and nodded.

"…Okay…Tengri, let's go!"

"Kyah! Kyah!"

* * *

In a forest of sturdy pine trees, snow rained heavily with a dull moan from the wind. The wind wasn't the only one moaning, however-a lanky figure sprawled out in the snow groaned with pain.

"Uugh…ow…" He slowly sat up with his brown eyes starting to adjust to the darkness of the evening.

"Man, have I got a headache…" Swaine held his dizzy head in his hand. His brain felt like it had been smashed into a billion pieces. The throbbing of a sharp pain shot through his head and through the rest of his sore body.

Suddenly he gasped, noticing another person lying in the snow. He carefully crawled over to get a better look. His heart skipped a beat at the shocking realization of who it was.

"E-E-Esther!"

Her limp body was covered in scratches and pine needles. Swaine looked up to see the branches of the treetops above her broken in several places. She must have crashed through the sharp branches of the trees during her fall. Although this had cushioned her descent, her body was still in bad shape and her hair a hopeless mess.

He gently shook her by the shoulders. "Esther! Esther, wake up!"

Her eyelids twitched. The woman grimaced with a faint groan.

"…Uugh…Ow…S-Swaine?"

"Oh thank god, you're still alive." He exhaled his breath as his shoulders relaxed slightly. "Are you okay? Can you stand?"

She sat up at a snail's pace before she hissed with pain. "Owch..."

"What's wrong?"

"My whole body feels sore. I don't think anything's broken, but-aah!"

She was cut off as a pair of wiry arms curled around her shoulders and knees. They lifted her up from the freezing snow and held her close to Swaine's chest.

"We don't have time to waste. We got to get out of this damn storm!"

"B-But-"

"Esther, your injured and we're in the middle of a raging snow storm and in the middle of who knows where. The last thing we need is to freeze to death out here."

Esther hesitated for a moment, her mouth open but not making a sound. "B-but are you okay? I mean, you fell too! Carrying me isn't going to make things any better!"

"Relax, I'm fine." Swaine began to plod through the snow. "I don't even remember falling. Right now we have to find some shelt-"

"Oof!" A muffled protest cried from where Swaine's left foot had stepped in the snow.

"Huh?" He raised his eyebrow and his leg. His foot was stuck in Drippy's mouth.

"Drippy?!"

The fairy nodded the best he could with distorted mutterings. The ex-thief kicked Drippy off, sending him into a fat tree trunk.

"Ow! Yuck, what a nasty taste! I've heard of putting youer foot in youer mouth, but that wa-" A pile of snow from the tree branches fell right on top of him, silencing his big mouth. Swaine and Esther tried to hold in their chuckles at this comical event, but their laughter was no match for their loose mouths. Their laughs overpowered the strident whistle of the wind with their volume.

A moment later the fairy reemerged, popping his head out of the snow.

"Brr! I'll freeze into a flipping ice cube at this rate!"

"Ahahaha-are-haha-you oka-hahaha-are you okay?" Esther asked in between her laughs.

Drippy brushed some snow from his arm. "Oi, I'm just tidy, lass. It'll take more than a little snow to finish off this Lord High Lord of the Fairies!" He shook his lantern, freeing it of frost. "Oi? Wait a minute, why are you lettin' that old bum carry you like that, Esther?"

The blonde blushed and babbled, "Uh-I-um-it was his idea!"

Swaine shifted his eyes away. "Well-er-hey, you were hurt!"

"I never said I couldn't walk!"

"Would you rather walk through this damn snow instead of me hauling your pretty little ass, blondie?"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?! AND MY ASS IS JUST FINE, YOU INSIPID MORON!"

"OH, JUST SHUT IT YOU BRATTY LITTLE BI-"

"Oi, hey guys!"

"_WHAT?!" _Both heads turned, furious.

"Quit youer bickering and take a look." He gestured behind the duo.

They turned around, resting their gaze on a white, furry person, who was staring wide eyed at them.

"Oh-sorry to you, am I interrupting something?" The tomte waved his timid hands in front of him.

The couple blushed brilliant shades of red, unable to say anything.

"Oh, um-anyway, what are people doing out here? It is being dangerous, yes?"

Esther blinked, recovering from her embarrassment. "Wait-you're a tomte! You're from Yule, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am being from Yule. I left for food, but I am on way back now."

"Oh! Well, do you mind if we tag along with you back to Yule?" Swaine asked.

"No, I have no minding at all. It is not being safe out here, especially in those coats! You are needing thicker clothes and help, yes? Come, we must be hurrying!"

He waved his furry arm for them to follow. Swaine marched through the snow the best he could with Drippy hopping besides him. The roar of the wind screamed with cold as they made their way through the iron curtain of the storm.


	7. Chapter 7: Blasts From the Past

**Ch 7: Blasts from the Past**

"Are you feeling any better?"

"Mm-hmm, much better."

"That's good. Here, drink some of this."

A woman in a lilac Eskimo style coat handed Esther a cup of soup. The tamer sipped at the warm liquid. When she had emptied the cup of its contents, Swaine walked in from another room carrying thick winter coats.

"Swaine! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, the doc said I'm fit as a fiddle. Remember when I said I didn't remember falling because I was knocked out? According to the doc, because I was completely relaxed when I fell, my body was able to absorb the shock evenly or whatever."

Drippy bounced right behind him. "Yep, and I'm all tidy, too! But what about you, lass?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Just a few bruised bones." She got to her feet. "See? I'm-ow!" Esther gritted her teeth, hissing while a sudden pain jolted though her body.

"…You were saying?" Swaine gave her a mocking grin as she gave him a sarcastic frown.

"Okay, I'm fine as long as I don't move too fast-happy now?"

He raised his shoulders. "Well, you're in one piece, so yeah, I'm happy."

He tossed one of the coats in his arms into hers. "Better put these on. They're a lot warmer and I'm not in the mood to deal with you while you're freezing to death."

Esther held up the article of clothing in her arms. It was like a thicker version of her old coat-rose pink with pom-pom drawstrings. However, there were fluffy trims of white on the ends of the sleeves, hood, and bottom. It also came with thicker snow pants, cute mittens, and a pair of sturdy snow boots with extra fluff in the inside to insulate extra warmth.

She looked back to the ex-thief. He was pulling his coat over his head. It was similar to hers but pale green and without pom poms. He already wore a pair of thick pants and tough boots.

"Um, speaking of freezing to death," Esther asked as Swaine's head popped out of the hood. "Do you remember when we came here three years ago? Was it _this_ cold?"

"It was cold alright, but not this chilly. But then again, there wasn't a snow storm back then either." Swaine replied as he pulled his mittens over his wiry hands.

"…About that…" The lady in lilac lowered her gaze. "Although it's cold and snowy year-round here in Yule, this storm is the worst and coldest we've ever had. It is colder than usual."

"Really?" Drippy hopped to a window sill, getting a great view of the angry storm stirring outside. "Blimey, here, too?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"The rest of the world is becoming a lot colder as well." Esther spoke up. "It even snowed in Al Mamoon, my home!"

"What?! Al Mamoon, the desert kingdom? Surely you must be joking!"

Swaine nodded his head. "Nope, she's not. The fairy and I saw it, too. And it's affecting Ding Dong Dell, too. "

Drippy sighed, fogging up the glass window slightly. "Yep, the whole world's entering an ice age." He gazed sadly outside at the once merry Christmas decorations. Wreathes that hung off of doors were frozen to the stem and looked more depressed than cheery. There were no playful snowmen or frolicking children in the snow; just a brutal blanket of white over the landscape.

"Mun, if this keeps up, we're gonna have a white Christmas, and not the kind you see on cards."

Swaine and Esther's eyes pointed to the floor. Their eyes reflected worry and glazed over with bleak thoughts.

_"I know Hamelin isn't affected by the weather, but who knows what this damn cold will do to it? If they're not careful, the cold could penetrate the city and freeze everyone or mess with the power lines, at least…"_

_ "Father…I hope you and everyone else back home is okay…I know you're not used to the cold…will you be okay?" _

The snowwoman fidgeted uncertainly, sensing the sullen change in atmosphere. She perked up faintly with an idea, spun around, and held out a tray with cups of warm soup.

"Um, here, this will warm you up!" She offered the tamer, mechanic, and fairy each a cup. Swaine raised his soup and noted its contents-less ingredients and more water. He gulped and the hot liquid traveled down his throat. It wasn't that tasty (a bit bland, in his opinion) but at least it was warm, as the lady said.

"Oi? This looks a bit watery to be soup."

"Drippy!" Esther shot a disapproving glare at his bluntness.

The lady lowered her head. "I'm sorry. Ever since this storm came, we've been having a hard time finding food…"

"…When exactly did this storm start?" Swaine eyed her suspiciously.

"Um…about four days ago…"

"Did it slowly get colder about three weeks before it hit?"

"…Now that you mention it, yes, but we thought we were simply having an early winter."

Swaine curled his hand around his stubble, lost in his train of thought.

"Oi, what you on to, mun?" Drippy leaped onto the mechanic's shoulder.

"How do you expect me to think if you're yelling into my ear?" Swaine swatted him off, sending Drippy crashing onto Esther's lap. The blonde barely noticed, as her eyes were trained onto the man, waiting for his answer.

"…Something's up. Three weeks ago when Oliver crashed landed in Hamelin, it was definitely colder than usual. And it gradually got colder the whole way to Castaway Cove. Then it snowed in Al Mamoon, and then Ding Dong Dell…and now here." He shook his head lightly. "There's no way it's just a bunch of coincidences, and climate change doesn't happen this fast."

"So what does it mean?"

He scratched the back of his hair. "I don't know. But if we don't figure something out soon, then Christmas isn't going to be too merry this year."

Drippy turned to face the snowwoman. "Oi, you didn't happen anything else about this cold, did you? Like weird monsters running amuck or whatnot?"

She was quiet for a moment before she sadly nodded her head.

"Great. We don't have any leads or clues. Now what?"

"…um, I may be having of leads." A shy voice called out.

Everyone glanced behind to see a fluffy tomte half hiding behind the door frame. His black eyes blinked back at them.

"Hey, you're the tomte from before, right?"

The white ball of fur nodded. "My name is Nivo. I go to find food for village and family, but I am having bad luck."

"So the whole village is starting to go hungry, too…" The desert blonde sullenly lowered her gaze.

"I am fearing so. Ice over ponds is thicker than normal and harder to fish. But…while I was out, I noticed something strange."

Everyone's heads rose up. You could feel the air in the room freeze with anxiousness.

"I went to gather after I fished. It was dark and hard to see, but I saw strong flurries of snow fly out of the entrance of Glittering Grotto…or at least I think it came from there."

"You mean that oversized icebox of a cave north of here?"

"Uh, yes. The wind brought the cold and ice, and I'm certain it came from the north, at least."

"Tidy! I'll be a monkey's uncle! We have a clue about what's behind this flipping cold!" Drippy hopped with excitement. "I say we go check it out! "

"You're not planning on sticking our necks into that hell of a cave and temperatures a thousand degrees below zero, are you?"

"Would you rather stay here?" Esther asked in a mocking tone.

"N-No, of couse no-wait, hold on, _you're_ going, too?"

"Why not?" Cocking her head, she asked with a slightly curious tone.

"In case you haven't noticed, you're not exactly in tip-top shape. Oh no, there's no way you're going there."

"It's just a few bruises!"

"Yeah, on your _bones_! And strolling out there will only make it worse!"

She rolled her blue eyes. "Who are you, my father? You can't tell me what to do! I'm not just going to sit around while the whole village-no, the world-is freezing to death!"

"Well, excuse me for worrying over your well being for once! If something happened to you I'd-I'd…I…" Swaine's anger melted into some emotion that he couldn't put his finger on. His tongue rolled in his mouth as if searching for the right words in his saliva. The heat of the argument was sizzling out, and the ex-thief knew there was little point in bickering about it now.

His hand reached up to burrow itself in his hair out of habit when he was uncomfortable, but another hand stopped it. It was Esther's.

"…If you're worried that I'm going to get hurt, then why don't we make a deal?"

"Huh? A deal?"

"Yeah-You let me go with you to The Glittering Grotto while you do all the heavy lifting and help me if my injuries get too bad."

He was quiet for a moment before she continued. "I won't be a dead weight, Swaine. I can still play my harp and heal you guys or tame familiars. So," she let go of his hand and stuck hers out. "Do we have a deal?"

He twisted his mouth before answering. "…Fine." He clasped his hand firmly around hers and gave it a shake.

"Tidy! I say we get going right away!" Drippy punched the air. "Christmas is only three days away, and I think everybody'd appreciate it if we'd stop this flipping ice age before it ruins the holidays."

"Sigh…Alright, fi-" Swaine's left hand instinctively went to his side. His eyes widened and looked disbelievingly down.

"Wha-oh, damn it all!" Slapping his face with a curse, he growled. "That goddamn, stupid storm!" He stomped the floor with an angry foot.

"Swaine, calm down! What's wrong?" Esther held his arm lightly to restrain his rage.

"I lost my satchel in that storm! I must have dropped it when I fell…Damnit!"

"It's okay, Swaine. What was in there that was so important?"

The man's brown eyes blinked wide as some color rose to his cheeks. "Um-err-well-uh-nothing! That's none of your business!"

Esther sighed. "…Remind me why I have to put up with you so much."

"Um, excuse me…" Nivo stepped forward. "By satchel, you mean a brown purse-like object?"

"Err, it's kinda like a purse. It's a bag with a strap and…" The man stopped midsentence as the tomte held up his prized messenger's bag.

"I found this hanging on a tree branch on way here. I thought a traveler lost it…Is it yours?"

Swaine snatched the bag up and scanned his eyes over the familiar material. He lifted the flap and peered carefully inside. He sighed with relief at the sight of its contents of the box-shaped present.

Esther got on her tip toes to attempt to look over his tall shoulder to see, but the bag was promptly closed.

"Oh no you don't-keep your nose out of my stuff."

"Hmph," The tamer huffed.

"Oi, are you two done bickerin' or what?" Drippy hopped impatiently. "I know that cave ain't going anywhere, but the sooner we hit the road and investigate Glittering Grotto, the better!"

"Wait!" Nivo jogged back to another room and came back wearing a blue vest and holding a small aqua blue coat. "The small one needs proper coat too. And you need someone to guide you. I will."

"Oi? You sure, mun? It's proper nasty outside, and who knows what's hanging around in the grotto…"

"Yes. Golden hair lady is right-I can't sit on my bottom while Yule freezes over. Besides, it is hard to see in storm, yes? We snowfolk know way around island like backs of our hands."

"Alright! That's what I want to hear! Look lively, muns! Bundle up and move out!"

* * *

The strong wind roared like a raging lion, trying to shove the four figures in the snow back. Nivo marched in the front with a walking stick while Swaine plodded behind him, and behind the ex-thief was Esther as her hair fluttered wildly like a golden blur. Drippy dragged behind them as his lantern swayed violently below his nose.

"Ooiii! How much farther is it, mun?"

"Just a bit further! Glittering Grotto is ahead!"

The desert blonde raised her head. She barely made out the dark shape that symbolized the cave's entrance. Strong gusts of wind intertwined with ice and cruel coldness rushed out of the mouth.

After fighting a war with the wind, the party marched into the ice infected cave. Large icicles dangled from the ceiling like frosty lances pointing at them. Piles and puffs of snow littered spots on the ground. No matter where you looked, you always saw ice reflecting a magical gleam back at you. It was as though some force had polished everything in frozen water, turning it into a bone-chilling hall of ice mirrors.

Nivo paused, panting slightly. "Huff…let's rest for minute, yes?"

"Whew…The storm was even worse up here." Swiane plopped down on a wide block of ice with weary legs. "It's like the closer we got to the grotto, the stronger the wind was."

"And it got colder, too." Esther sat down beside him. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear from the breeze.

"Wait…there's still some wind…"

"Yeah, so?"

"We're inside a giant cave and yet there's a breeze from the inside of it."

Swaine now raised an eyebrow. "…Hey, you're right. It's coming… from that direction."

He pointed his hand to his right-up the path that led deeper into the Glittering Grotto. A few minuscule snowflakes floated about with the breeze, proving his point.

"This is unusual." Nivo caught some flakes in his hand and stared at them. "It is strange that there is wind from inside cave here. Something is not right."

"'Least we don't have to fight against that crikey wind." Drippy hopped down to the iced over ground. "But it's still pretty chilly-Brrr!" He rapidly rubbed his arms over the other, praying the friction would eliminate the numbness.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Esther stood back up. "We have to check out the rest of the cave!"

"Okay, okay, hold your horses." The lanky man got back onto his long legs, stretching his arms over his head.

As the party progressed deeper into the grotto, everything was quiet except for the soft shuffling of their footsteps, the whisper of the breeze, and the faint huffs of breath that came out into small clouds.

But not the slightest sound of any other life forms. No Sasquash, no Ice Queen, no Pond Pom-nothing.

"Did all the monsters around here high tail it outta here and turned this cave into a ghost grotto?"

"I am not knowing. Many snow beasts make their home here and thrive here, but now it is empty. It is like…'ghost' grotto, as you said, no?"

Swaine shrugged as he glanced at the white tomte. "Just a little play on words. A ghost town is a old town that's abandoned and empty-like here."

"So…you think Glittering Grotto is inhabited by ghosts now?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa-I never said anything about ghosts moving in here. " He waved his hands in front of him with a slight panic in his voice.

"What's the matter Swaine-afraid of a few ghosts?"

"I am not!" He snapped back. "Why would I, of all people, be afraid of something as silly as a ghost?"

The moment that word passed his lips, something palely glowing glided out of his chest. It spun in a happy circle in the air, grinning up to the man.

"Eh? Spooky? I didn't cal-ack!" Swaine was cut off as the Bougie-Woogie licked his face with his tail wagging with joy.

"Ack-down boy-pth-stop, ack-heel, boy, heel!"

Eventually the eerie familiar stopped and floated over to Esther's face, where he nuzzled her cheek.

"Heehee, hi, Spooky! You've really grown!"

The Bougie from five months ago had evolved into a powerful ghost creature with a curled horn on its head and a purple star mark over its right eye. A green striped candle stood up at the end of his long tail.

"Ooh, aren't you a good boy? Ooh, aren't you a sweetheart?" Giggling, she nuzzled her nose with the animal's.

"Ahem." The mechanic cleared his throat abruptly. "Hate to break up the love fest, but we can't stand here gushing over small animals all day."

Spooky whined, began to float back over to the man, but an icicle caught his attention. He hovered over there instead and sniffed it curiously.

"'C'mon, Spooky, we don't-" The ghost stuck out his tongue to taste the cone of ice. "Wait, no don't! Spooky!"

It was too late. His tongue was stuck to the stalactite of ice. He tugged back, but his flesh was frozen in its place.

"Oh, brother…" Swaine wrapped his hands around the ghost's torso and pulled. After a few tugs, he was free with a yank.

"Hmph. I hope you learned a little lesson today." Spooky shook his body, nodded, and vanished into his master's heart.

"Okay, now that _that_ ordeal is over with, we shou-hey, wait, where's fluffball and the fairy?" The man turned his head around as Esther did the same-there was no sight of the tomte or their Lord High Lord of the Fairies.

"Oi, we're over here, mun!" Drippy hollered from somewhere behind them. The couple spun around, seeing the tomte and fairy.

"Are you coming?" The duo looked up and saw Nivo waving his walking staff. "We must be moving forward, yes?"

Esther and Swaine jogged up to them. Now together again, they traveled deeper into the grotto. Once again, everything was quiet as the ice.

"…Hey, Swaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Oliver and Marcassin are okay?"

The man's eyes darkened with concern. "…I hope so. If they're not, then they're really in for it." He said, trying to lighten the mood with his trademark remarks.

"Oliver…Marcassin…Tengri…Please be safe."

"I'm sure they-the-th-th-"Suddenly the man began to stutter midsentence as his dark eyes widened to the size of golf balls.

"Swaine? What's gotten into you?"

Still babbling slightly, he pointed his shaking hand. Esther shifted her blue eyes in that direction. And gasped.

Standing right in front of them a meter away were…themselves. And Oliver. And Drippy. But all about three years younger.

"Mom!" The thirteen year old Oliver shouted. A few yards away from the younger party stood a tall man with long brown hair and a mustache to match along with royal clothing. The man faced a young woman with chestnut hair and wizard clothing as she held a blue staff in her left hand.

"Could this be the place?"

"It could. The Maw of the Mountain King seems an apt hiding place for the visionary magic of the ancients…"

"The power to save souls…Could it really be here? If we could only find it, we might stand a chance of defeating the Dark Djinn."

Nivo stared at the illusion with surprise while Drippy said, "Oi, I get it. That's a vision of the past. This cave is known to show flashbacks from the past, en't it? And right now we're seeing one from where _we_ saw one three years ago!"

The past Oliver and his friends weren't done yet. The Swaine of the past stuttered, "Th-Th-That's my d-d-d-! I m-m-mean the old emperor!"

"It is, huh. Why would he and my mom be here?" The younger Oliver gazed at the figures of the past while the past Drippy shook his lantern.

"That en't youer mam…That's the Great Sage Alicia…Crikey, it's been a while…"

"Alicia? Of course…She was in my dream…She looks so much like her…"

"So the old emperor spent his time hanging around with pretty young sages, did he?" Smirking, the Swaine of the past placed his hands on his hips. "Heh. It's all right for some…"

"Swaine! Is this really the time for your lewd comments?" The teenage Esther scolded him.

Before the show could continue, the images faded away, dissolving in the cold air into nothing.

"W-Wow! We saw a flashback of past!" Nivo turned to the others, awestruck. "Yes…now that I look at you, you look like past people, but older."

Drippy chuckled. "Yep, we've been here before. Not much has changed, has it?" He eyed Swaine and Esther with a grin.

The man shrugged like it was no big deal. "Mm-hmm, anyway, shouldn't we be moving?"

However, in his mind, something about that vision stuck. Something about seeing himself and his friends from three years ago.

"_Oliver looked so young back then…He was just thirteen back then, and kids grow up fast. And Esther…she was younger too."_

He spared a glance at the woman besides him-a young lady of about eighteen, maybe nineteen years old. The girl and the woman did differ in appearances slightly, as the Esther of the present was taller, wore her lovely hair down, and had a more developed figure. However, some things didn't change at all, like her blue eyes or her blonde hair and, of course, her personality.

"_But the fairy didn't change at all…neither did I"._ He looked down at his hand as if seeing it for the first time. _"I'm still just plain old Swaine. Yep, just a thirty year old man who's good with his hands."_

"Swaine? Swaine, are you awake?"

"H-huh?" The man blinked back to reality to the face of the desert woman.

"You were just staring off into space. Are you okay?"

"Oh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just lost in my thoughts."

"…Do you want to talk about it?"

"Eh? Nah, it's not big or anything. I'm fine, really."

"…Okay, if you say so."

Meanwhile, completely oblivious to the couple's conversation, Nivo and Drippy held a staring contests with the icicles from above the wide gap in the path.

"Gee, if we had Ollie-boy with us, he could just force them down with Pulse lickety-spit and we could just make our merry way across!"

The tomte picked up a thick piece of ice from the ground and threw it at the icicles with all his might. It hit them with a _clink_ and bounced to the ground, unsuccessful.

"Hmmm…We need something to get ice down, but how?"

_POW!_

Something metallic shot up and crashed into the base of the icicles. It exploded, sending small shockwaves into the rest. With dull cracks, the icicles broke free and fell, piercing the space where the gap was. They became stepping stones of frozen water.

Flabbergasted, the two non-humans spun around. Swaine coolly blew the smoke from the barrel of his pistol and smirked.

"How's that?"

"Tidy, mun! Now let's stop standing around and get a move on!"

The fairy bounced across with ease, followed by Nivo (who nearly lost his balance), Swaine (who jumped clumsily along), and Esther (who slipped and fell on the other side).

"Whoa! You okay, Esther?" Swaine held his hand out for her to take it. She started to reach out but hissed with pain.

"Esther?" Swaine raised his eyebrows, concerned.

"Ow…I-I'm fine, just a little sore." Esther tried to get back to her feet, wincing at the heaving of her weak bones.

"I dunno…That was a bit of a fall."

"What are you going to do about it, carry the rest of the way?"

Swaine opened his mouth to retort, but the loud fairy cut him off.

"Hey, there, mun. Why don't ya'?"

"Eh?! Are you joking?"

"Oh, come on! I'll give you three good reasons- one, you two made that deal back there about you helping her if her injuries got too bad; two, it might be a good idea to give her a rest from walking; and three, chivalry!" He said the last one with a grin.

"…Yeah, I'll just go with the first two reasons." Swaine's deadpan voice replied. He hoisted the lady onto his back and hooked his arms under her legs with her arms around his neck.

"Up you go…" He stood to his full height, feeling gravity pull Esther down slightly. At least she wasn't too heavy…

"Is everybody ready to proceed?" Nivo asked. Swaine turned his face to Esther, who nodded. The party walked forward. As Swaine placed one foot in front of the other, he felt Esther tighten her grip around his neck.

As they continued, Esther looked around her. Because there were no monsters or harsh wind, she was able to relax and let her eyes wander, taking in the wonders of the Glittering Grotto. Beautiful ice formations decorated the inside and gleamed with a vast array of blues. Nature had turned the environment into a natural art museum of ice sculptures. Every time she rotated her neck to see more, her face would brush against Swaine's brown curly mess of hair. It was frizzy yet somewhat soft. There was a faint whiff of earth and must from his curls.

Suddenly the man stopped abruptly, jerking Esther's face forward into his hair. She felt some color rise to her cheeks before she asked, "Huh? Swaine? Why did we sto-"

She gasped sharply, noticing a horrifying sight before them.

A large creature resembling a cross between a fish and a wolf was lying on its side on the icy ground. It had spikes along its back and a tail that harbored several fin-like appendages and two cords of raw bone. The wolf's enormous paws were larger than dinner plates and had thick claws. A spiked collar hung around its neck, making it look ferocious.

Or would have, had he not of been covered in blood, cuts, and lying on the floor weakly, defeated.

"Is…Isn't that…C-C-Cerboreas?"

The wolf's ears perked up at the sound of his name. He opened one of his pale yellow eyes, panting for breath. His black pupil eyed the group warily.

Swaine walked over and gently put Esther down. She crouched down to the wolf's head and carefully placed a hand on its head.

"It's okay. We're not here to hurt you." Esther soothingly whispered. The beast blinked back at her.

"…You…you are the girl from three years ago…with the savior…a-are you not?"

"T-T-The monster talked!" Nivo was shocked at this and backed away a step. Drippy patted him on the thigh.

"Don't worry mun, he's a good pooch. Besides, he couldn't harm a fly in that state…Blimey…"

The wolf continued. "I am…Cerboreas…f-faithful servant of the Wizard King…and previous Keeper of-" He broke into a coughing fit, unable to finish. The tamer gently stroked his blue fur.

"It's alright. Take it easy…" The sympathy in the woman's voice calmed the wolf. He took in a deep breath of the cold air.

"You shouldn't be here…It's dangerous…"

"You mean who-or whatever did this to you? What on earth happened?"

"…A spirit…of ice and snow…its anger is infecting everywhere…"

"A spirit? You mean…a ghost?"

Cerboreas coughed. "…It is worse…I-I tried to stop it, but…I failed…"

Swaine bent over to the beast. "No kidding. You're pretty beat up."

"…My master may be gone, but I still wish to serve this world…I had to at least try to protect it…" He hacked with a cough again, this time spiting some blood. A few droplets spattered onto Esther's hand.

"Who is responsible for this? And why? What could they gain by freezing everyone to death?"

"It…It's going to literally do just that."

"W…What?" Esther's eyes grew wide.

"So you're telling us there's some evil spirit or whatever around here trying to turn the world into a giant ice box." Swaine crossed his arms.

"Y-yes…It's just ahead…You should turn around. It's too dangerous for-"The majestic beast broke into another weak cough.

"Wait," Esther pulled out her harp. Softly plucking the strings, a soothing tune resonated through the air. Cerboreas felt his wounds heal slowly and his breathing becoming more stable. He stared at this songstress as she sang gently.

"…There. Can you stand?" Esther asked.

The beast carefully applied weight onto a paw, and then the others. He whined.

"…My wounds…they're not fully healed…but I think I can walk…"

Swaine scratched the wolf's ears. "Take it easy. You're gonna need a little more than a Healing Hymn to be back to normal." He turned to Nivo and Drippy.

"Hey, you guys get him outta here."

"Eh?"

"Swaine's right," Esther said. "His injuries are too deep for my music alone. You should take him back to Yule."

"But what about you two? What are you gonna do?"

"Gonna kick whoever's ass is behind this mess."

"What? But the one responsible is probably very strong…" Nivo had worry in his black eyes. "Will you two be okay?"

Esther walked the large wolf to the tomte. "Don't worry about us. If we don't something, then either the whole village will freeze over or Cerboreas will…will…" She couldn't bring herself to even think about the possibility of death of the majestic animal. Being a familiar tamer, the condition of any animal would pull at her heartstrings.

"Oi, but what about me?" Drippy piped up. "I can do more than walk muttface here!"

"You mean you're good at something that doesn't involve annoying the crap out of us?" Swaine mocked.

"Oh, shut it, you old bum!" Swaine scowled at this, but the fairy paid it no mind. "Just because I'm tiny doesn't mean I can't fight! What if ya' need my Tidy Tears? Or need someone brave and fast on his feet to distract whatever's up ahead?"

Swaine cringed inside. The fairy had a point-even if he was annoying as hell. He scratched his hair.

"…Oh, all right, fine. You can come with us. Nivo can give the dog a walk by himself."

"Tidy!" Drippy hopped gleefully, skipped ahead, and called out. "Come on, muns! Get a move on!"

Esther turned back to Nivo. He trusted the tamer and now gave the wolf a pat on the head.

"Go on. You can leave the beast to me. I will take him to safety."

Esther smiled, entrusting Cerboreas to the tomte. She walked to Swaine who was waiting for her. The man flashed his trademark smirk to Nivo.

"Just wait-this storm will be over and we'll be back before you know it."

They waved at each other, turned around, and walked in opposite directions.

"Wonder what sort of thing we're dealing with this time…"

"Maybe another snow monster? Like that one back in Ding Dong Well?"

"Well, whatever it is, let's just get this over with."

Esther glanced over to the man. Even though the man harbored his usual sarcastic voice, the blonde detected some fear in his eyes.

A strong gust of wind whistled in their faces. Everyone braced against the sharp push of cold.

"Damn it, stupid wind!"

"Wait…if the wind's getting stronger…"

Swaine's eyebrows rose. "…then we're probably getting closer to the source…"

"Tidy! We're almost there! Come on, let's show him-er, or her…or it-what happens when you mess with our weather!" Drippy cheered and dashed forward.

The lithe man was still, fear starting to creep into his body. The current of fear was halted when he felt something lightly squeezing his arm. He looked down to see Esther's hands around his upper arm. She gave him a small, reassuring smile. The man nodded slowly. She let go of his arm and the couple moved forward.

The wind was like ice, cold and sharp. There was a circle of ice, making a clearing in the room surrounded by icicles resembling sharp fangs or dangerous claws. The trio eyed their surroundings warily. Strong currents of wind rushed past them carrying snowflakes.

As they approached the center of the 'room', a shadow behind the forest of ice needles growled and stealthily crawled around the border, out of the line of sight of the mortals.

* * *

**AN: Fun fact time-I based Nivo the tomte's name off the Latin word for 'snow'**


	8. Chapter 8: A Blizzard of a Beast

**Ch 8: A Blizzard of a Beast**

"Oliver!" Marcassin's voice called out. "Is the storm any better?"

The wizard turned around, revealing his face coated over in snow. Shaking his head and sending snow flying off, he said, "Not yet."

Oliver walked away from the cave entrance and towards the fire that he had made with a fireball a few hours earlier. Tengri was lying down around the fire while Marcassin sat against his scaled body. The young emperor's right foot was on a raised lump of snow as more snow was around the ankle.

"How's your ankle?" Oliver sat down to the fire, right next to Marcassin.

"A little better…" His green eyes stared at the sprained ankle. "I hope Swaine and Esther are alright…"

"Me, too. I'm not too worried about Mr. Drippy-he's a lot tougher than he looks-but…I just left them there…"

"Oliver, there was a raging storm. There was nothing you could do. Besides, Drippy is most likely with them. He may be small, but at least he can keep an eye on them."

Oliver nodded. "You're right. I just wish this storm would let up so we could try and find them."

"Or if we had some coffee to restore our magic. If only I had some more magic energy left, then I could at least cast travel."

"At least we had enough to start a fire and stay warm, right?"

The Hamelin man nodded. He looked down to his prized staff that sat in the snow. When they had tried to land, the wind had pushed them off balance, resulting in a crash landing on a neighboring Winter Isle. The crash had resulted in not only spraining Marcassin's ankle, but also losing almost all of their magic power. Without magic, the Imperial Staff at his side was nothing but an ornately decorated stick, an empty shell.

"Hey, Marcassin?"

"Hm? Yes, Oliver?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"I noticed you always call Swaine, well, Swaine. Back when we were traveling together three years ago, you called him by his real name…Gascon."

"Oh, that," He stared into the fire, remembering the things of the past. "Well, you remember me telling you about how he became one of the big mechanics back in Hamelin, correct?"

Oliver nodded, and the sage continued.

"He always insisted I called him Swaine. He said he was no longer a prince or Gascon, just Swaine. It was a hard habit to break, but I finally managed to do so after all this time…although I do tend to slip every now and then when we're alone.

"What does he do if you do call him that?"

"Usually he threatens to 'noogie me into next week'."

The boy laughed at this. "Haha, I never knew Swaine was the kind of person to give someone a noogie."

"Yes, you'd think." His emerald eyes softened. "But…I've noticed he only does it to me or occasionally to the co-workers he's close to. I think…it's almost like a sign of affection from him."

"Hmm…so if I called him 'Gason', then would he give me a noogie, too?"

"Perhaps…But I have to warn you-he doesn't show mercy with his noogies." He rubbed the crown of his head, as if feeling that familiar pain. "Last time it made my hair looked like I had just gotten out of bed…"

"Okay," Oliver turned his attention back to the entrance of the cave. The snow and wind still roared, not showing any signs of stopping.

_"Esther…Swaine…Mr. Drippy…I hope you're okay."_

* * *

"See anything out of the ordinary?"

"No…All I see is ice and icicles." The wind dashed past Esther's hair as it fluttered with the wind. Her blue eyes scanned the area, failing to find anything useful.

"Maybe we're in the wrong place?" Swaine scratched his hair.

"I'm not sure, mun…" Drippy crossed his small arms. "Maybe muttface meant somewhere else when he said 'up ahead'?"

"Beast me. Maybe we should check out the other areas of the grotto…"

The lanky man walked towards the entrance that connected to the rest of the snowy cave. Before he could take one step out, there was a loud cracking noise from above. Scrunching his eyebrows, he looked up.

"Yikes!"

Jumping backwards with wide eyes, the man narrowly dodged the sharp, heavy icicles that came crashing down. They were twice his height and stood tall, blocking the only way in or out.

"What the hell?!"

Swaine suddenly heard Esther yelp from behind. He spun around, seeing her staring at something behind the forest of ice needles.

"Esther, what-"

He was cut off as a large white blur leaped out from the ice stalagmite. It swiped a large clawed paw at the woman. She would have been swatted to the ground had Swaine not pulled her out of the way.

The thin man stared fearfully at this monster. It was an enormous polar bear with fur so white it hurt the man's eyes. The beast glared at the man with ink black eyes. It also had a black nose to match, just above its row of growling sharp teeth. Around its thick neck was a triangular collar of frost gleaming with gems of snow. The paws had sturdy shackles with similar designs and broken chains as if this beast had broken out of some prison.

The bear roared fiercely in their faces, making their ear drums beg for mercy. When the beast had stopped, the air was deadly silent as if it was frozen.

"Don't tell me we have to fight another one of these guys…"

"Swaine, look out!"

The polar bear punched his massive paw at them. A shockwave of cold rushed past them. The couple braced themselves.

"Brrrr! Damn cold!"

"Swaine, how did we defeat the last one at Ding Dong Well again?"

"Um…I shot a flaming bullet into its mouth with Marcassin's magic."

"Oh no…" Esther desperately rummaged in the library of her mind for another solution.

"We can't just stand here; we have to-LOOK OUT!"

He shoved the blonde to the side as he darted the other way. Between them, where they once stood, the bear's mighty jaw bit down on air, aiming for the humans.

"Look, we'll come up with a different plan as we go-right now we gotta stay alive!"

Jerking out his loaded gun, he aimed for the eyes. The bang of the gun echoed in the chamber of ice. A puff of thick smoke coated the monster's eyes, blinding him.

"Esther, try Cacophony or something!"

Pulling out her harp, she strummed the strings harshly and strident sounds screeched through the chilly air. Swaine and Drippy held their palms over their ears. The bear groaned with pain as the sharp notes pinched their way into his ears. Angered, he took a wide step towards the woman. Desperate she continued to play, hoping to make the fiend back off.

As the beast advanced, she took a few fearful steps back.

"Hey!" _Bang!_

A bullet hit the bear's temple and it growled with rage. He shifted his beady black eyes at the gunman, growling.

"Hey, snowball, back off! Leave her alone!"

The oversized mammal grunted and slammed its paws into the ground. A moment later long, think needles of ice shot out from the ground near Swaine's feet and around his body. His gun was shoved out of his hand and more needles sprang up around him.

"Urgh! Umf! Dammit!" He struggled against the ice but it was no use. "These damn icicles won't budge! I can't move!"

"Swaine!"

Esther's eyes grew large as the beast ran towards the helpless man. The monster stood up on his hind legs and raised his paw, ready to strike.

"Oi! I don't think so!"

With a swift jump, Drippy leaped up from Swaine's head and onto the bear's face. He hammered his fists against his eyes.

Roaring with pure pain and rage, the bear backed off from the man and slapped his paws at the fairy, only to have the Lord High Lord of the Fairies hop over the swipes and continue to distract the beast.

"Ha! You're gonna have to do better than that!"

"Drippy, be careful!" Esther stood at the side, not sure where to step. The bear's claws swiped at the air around it, narrowly missing the tamer's body.

Meanwhile Swaine ran through his brain, hastily thinking of what to do.

"_Okay, there's a big bear with fur impervious to bullets and normal attacks. The only fire we have is Gunther, but his magic isn't that...refined…he'd just end up melting my gun, unlike Marcassin. And there isn't enough room for him to jump out of my heart…damn ice!"_

He gritted his teeth as his frustration grew.

"_Damn it, I'm just a sitting duck when they're in danger! Why can't I protect them? WHY?!"_

His hand balled into an angry fist, wanting to punch something. Or use his pistol.

"_Damnit. I'm useless. Just a useless excuse of a man!"_

He craned his neck back, wanting to scream at the air above him. But something caught his eye before he opened his mouth.

In the very middle of the ceiling was a large gathering of icicles. They were thick with sharp edges glistening with cruel iciness. And they were a good dozen yards above the ground as well.

"Esther!" She whipped her head around to the man's yelling. "I've got an idea!"

She bolted towards him. Her hands clutched the poles of ice imprisoning her friend like a crook would behind jail bars.

"Esther, listen closely," He bent his head forward slightly. "I want one of you guys to lure that monster in the very middle of the room while the other shoots my gun up at those giant icicles."

He tilted his head up. Esther gazed in the same direction, seeing the sharp mass of frozen water on the ceiling.

"But…But I don't know how to use a gun!" Esther said. "And there's no way Drippy could use it, either!"

"Look, Esther, we don't have time to be picky. In case you haven't noticed, we're in a life or death situation and have to do _something_ or we're gonna end up becoming snowball's dinner, and I'm not in the mood to be eaten alive."

Her grip on the ice tightened, as if she was fighting the urge to cry. She swallowed and nodded uncertainly.

"Good! My gun's right over here." Unable to point with his arms, he leaned his head to the side. The complex pistol sat on the ice, waiting to be shot.

Hesitantly curling her hands around the grip, she raised the contraption from the ground, feeling the weight. She noticed a small department of the gun was open, big enough to fit half a dozen bullets.

And it was empty.

"Uh, Swaine, it's out of bullets."

The man had the color of surprise spattered on his face.

"What? But I only fired one shot and I know I loaded it up before we left!"

Panicked, Esther whipped her head around. Her sapphire eyes caught something small and metallic shine on the ground. It was a bullet.

She dashed towards it, picked it up, and saw a few more scattered on the ground. She reached out for the others, but the bear's paw slammed in front of her hand, growling lowly.

Her scream came out in a short squeak. Arrows of ice sprang up from the floor around her, just like Swaine. However, the girl was light on her feet and much more flexible. Jerking her body effortlessly around the hazards, she leaped away.

More needles shot up after her, but they were no match for this desert dancer. Bending her body and stepping swiftly around them, she avoided the same fate as her friend.

"Wow," Swaine stared, awestruck at her agile movements. "She's pretty good."

"Oi, down here, mun!" A bombastic welsh voice came from his feet. Looking down, he found the fairy pointing his red lantern up at him.

"That beastie threw me off to the side. You want me to get you out of there before I mess with snowball?"

"Yeah, right. I highly doubt those puny arms of yours would do me any good." He paused. "Think you could get the other bullets on the floor to Esther, instead?"

"Sure thing, mun!" Drippy hopped in a semi circle and scanned his eyes across the room.

"Let's see…Aha!" Dashing towards the little piece of metal, he scooped it up and did the same for the others.

Meanwhile Esther continued to dodge the arrows on the ice, but her stamina was growing thin. She panted, struggling to keep moving.

"_I can't keep this up for much longer…Oh, Drippy, where are you?"_

_Swich!_ A blade of ice sliced against her cheek, leaving behind a thin line of red on her face.

"Nngh!" She winced at the distress in her cheek. Her feet chose to slip on the ice at that time, causing her to fall and dropping the one bullet she had.

A small hand caught the soaring piece of metal before it hit the ground.

"Oi, sorry I took so long, lass!"

"Drippy!"

The beast roared behind her. It slowly began to lift its upper body on its hind legs.

"Drippy! The bullets!"

"On it!" He spilled them out on the ground by her hands, dashed around to the bear's rear end, and gave the little tail a good yank.

"_GRROOOOAAAHH!" _

The monster let loose an earsplitting roar of pain. He chased after the fairy on his tail, no longer concerned with the tamer. She hastily grabbed the bullets from the ground and crammed them into the compartment meant to store bullets and slammed it shut.

She now had a loaded pistol in her hand. And without the foggiest idea how to aim with it.

_"Is this really a good idea?" _Esther thought.

"Hey, Blondie!" The man's voice brought her back to reality. "Don't just stand there! Get ready to fire!"

She looked up. Drippy was running for his life in front of the polar bear's fang infected mouth.

"Drippy! Get him in the center!"

"Okay, here we go!" The fairy turned his path towards the middle of the room, directly below the icicles.

She raised her arm with her finger around the trigger. It shook slightly, pointing at the icicles of death.

_"It…It's so scary holding a gun…I'm actually holding a weapon, a machine designed to __**kill**__ people. Wait," _She blinked, clearing her head. _"A gun doesn't have to be used to kill. Like right now, I'm using it to save people…to save everyone…and him…"_

Her hand steadied, now confident to hold up the gadget. Meanwhile, the fairy screeched on his breaks, whipped around, and jumped on the beast's head like before.

"Take this! And that!" He pounded the crown of the head, distracting the monster without moving from his spot.

"Now, Esther! Pull the flipping gun while snowball's distracted!"

"Right!"

She squeezed her finger. It all happened in a split second.

When the ignition sparked, the force of the gun sent her arm back. The aim altered, sending the bullet flying off in a different direction.

There was another spit second as everyone's eyes honed in on that off-target bullet.

_"Damn it! I forgot that you need a strong arm to use that pistol-and there's no way her arms would be prepared for the shock!"_

Swaine's dark eyes followed the bullet like a laser point, wondering where it would end up. It whizzed past his face and into a tall ice formation.

And bounced right off at an angle. It continued its path until it bounced off an icicle, and then another. It literally zipped around the room with everyone's heads following the flying bullet.

At last it soared up to the original target-the super sized daggers of ice in the middle of the ceiling. With a faint clink, it punched the ice at its base and dropped down, hitting the ground with another clink.

At first there was pure silence as if the earth was holding its breath.

Then there was a crack, followed by a couple more. Cracked lines broke their way around the ice, loosening its grip.

CR-CRACK!

"Oi!" Drippy glanced at the falling mass, flicked the bear's nose, and said, "Nighty-nite, blizzard bear!" With that, he darted away from the danger.

The sound of agonizing roars and collapsing ice echoed through the air. Esther raised her hand to her eyes to spare herself of the sight. When the dust had settled and the air was quiet, she lowered her hand.

The same dark blue liquid from the tiger in the well oozed out between the cracks of the ice. Suddenly the ice shifted and a large indigo sphere rolled out lazily to Drippy.

"Oi, it's another one of those flipping orbs!" He curled his arms around it, lifting it off the ground. "Mun, this thing is heavy…"

At that very moment the needles of ice imprisoning Swaine dove back into the ground whence they came. He regained his balance, now standing on his own two feet.

"Phew. Good be out of _that_ goddam-oof!"

The scruffy man was sent falling backwards as Esther jumped up and tackled him to the ground, hugging his neck.

"Swaine! Oh, thank goodness you're okay!"

"Uh-well, of course I am. It's not like-wait, Esther, your face!"

"Hm? Oh, that?" She pointed at her cheek. "It's just a little cut, no big deal."

He sat back up, gently pushing her up with him. Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a small roll of bandages.

"I'd feel a lot better if we bandaged it, though."

He tugged on the white material, snapped it off, and placed it on the woman's cut, smoothing it over her cheek.

"There."

"…Thank you." She touched the bandage, as if checking that it was real.

"U-Um, anyway, we should get goi-ow!" Esther tried to stand back up, but felt a rush of pain from her ribs.

"Esther! What's wrong?"

"Urgh…I'm fine, just-just tired."

The man huffed out a sigh and scooped her up onto his back.

"Let me guess-those bruised bones are all worn out from all that jerking around you did earlier?"

"I-I…Okay, a little."

He gave her a mocking smile. "Whasta matta, get your little ass kicked, sweatheart?"

She averted her blue eyes from his. "Just shut up and walk, idiot…"

"Can do."

He strolled to the blocked entrance as the barricading icicles stared coldly at them.

"How the flip are we gonna get these out of the way?" Drippy said, marching as he held the heavy orb with all of his strength.

"Hm…Ah, got it! Hey, Gunther!"

The moment Swaine called out, a burly blue familiar leaped out of his chest, punching the air enthusiastically.

"You know what to do, boy."

Gunther grunted in agreement. He brought his fist back. Flames engulfed his hand, ready to strike. He punched the ice with all of his fiery might. The ice cracked and melted from the energy, surrendering to the Hurlabaloo. All that was left was a meek puddle of water.

"Alright! Good boy, Gunther!"

Gunther grunted happily as he hopped in place and leaped back into his heart. The man took a step into the puddle as it splashed under his boot.

"…Hey, Swaine, do you think the blizzard is over now that we got rid of that monster?"

"Maybe, but the only way to find out is to go see for ourselves."

* * *

"Oi…My flippin' arms feel like they're gonna fall off…"

"You wanna take a rest?"

Drippy eagerly shook his head as his arms quivered from the strain of the ball's weight.

"Okay…How about over there?" Swaine cocked his head to a large evergreen tree with hardy branches from atop a hill.

"Oi, looks like a tidy spot to me, mun!" Grunting, he mustered the last of his strength to carry the heavy mass in his arms. Suddenly his eyes lit up with an idea. He placed the sphere at his feet and began to push it up the hill.

"Blimey, why didn't I think of this before?"

As the lithe man marched besides him with Esther on his back, the fairy failed to notice the collecting of snow on the ball.

His hands began to slip and he struggled to shove it forward.

"Hrrgh…C'mon, you-" Just then his feet lost traction with the snow and the ball rolled backwards, right over the fairy. The round objects rolled down the hill at a blinding speed, snowballing into a huge ball of snow.

"Whoooaaa!"

He faded away into the distance. During the whole show, Swaine and Esther stared with curious eyes.

"Have a nice trip! Haha!"

"Will he be okay?"

"Who cares? Now rid of the Lord High Lord of All Things Annoying, we can have some peace and quiet."

Plodding through the snow, he finally reached the top to the tree, where he carefully put the blonde down. He plopped down by her in the snow.

"Hey, I can see Yule from here!" Esther raised her hand over her eyes to see the home of the snowfolk below.

"Yeah…The view's actually not half bad."

She turned her head to his. She could see the angular profile of his face and his brown eyes staring out to the land and ice-infested sea. But that wasn't what he was gazing at.

Drifting through the dark sky above like waves of multicolored silk were the Northern Lights, illuminating the air. Before the blizzard drew thick curtains over the sky, but now, without the storm, the duo got front row seats of the show of lights.

She gasped; it had been a while since she had last seen them, and had almost forgotten how elegant the sight was.

"It's so beautiful…"

"Mm-hmm…"

Their voices were barely above a whisper. Vivid colors danced across the sky, taking the couple's breath away.

"We definitely don't have this back in the desert."

"What's the sky like there at night, then?"

"It's still pretty. It's usually clear so you can see all the stars at night. When I was little I would try to come up with my own constellations."

"Hm…I see."

"What about you?"

He snorted. "Are you kidding me? I grew up in Hamelin, remember? The only thing to see in the sky was smoke, smog, and who knows what else."

"O-Oh. Sorry, I forgot…"

"No biggie." He paused. "…But that doesn't mean I didn't find myself staring up at the sky at night while traveling."

"Wait…you mean…when you…became a thief?"

"Yeah…" His voice grew even quieter as he remembered his past. "Most of the time I was in the shadows, but every now and then I got the chance to see the night sky. There were a lot more stars out there than in Hamelin."

Esther didn't respond, but instead lightly hugged her knees.

"…Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, shoot."

She swallowed. "…What exactly was it…like to be a thief?"

The ex-thief blinked. His body tensed slightly, caught off guard by this question.

"…W-why would you of all people want to know that?"

"…When I think of a thief, I think of some heartless, ugly person who steals anything he can. That's what I honestly thought when we first met back in Castaway Cove. You stole that cauldron, remember?"

"How do you expect me to forget an oversized pot with a giant red genie living in it?"

Esther laughed lightly before continuing. "Anyway, when I got to know you better, I started to think you as my friend rather than a thief. And then I got thinking about how there's so much about your life that I didn't understand…and still don't."

"Oh. Well… it's not a bed of roses, I'll tell ya' that." His bony hand crept up to his chin, scratching his stubble. "It's practically a jungle out there. You're either hunted or busy trying to survive. There are only users on the streets and in the alleys, and you either get eaten alive or become bloody miserable."

He closed his jaded eyes. "It's every man for himself, and you can't afford to help or trust others. And there's some pretty ugly stuff out there. I did what I had to do to survive, and I wasn't proud of it. But on the streets you don't have time to worry about your pride."

Esther kept her blue eyes glued to him as he spoke and brought a hand over his eyelids, as if remembering something gruesome.

"…You're lucky, Esther. You were born a Great Sage's daughter, had a home with enough to eat, a father that loved you…"His voiced cracked faintly at the last part. "When I was on the streets, I didn't even have the hope that tomorrow would be a better day."

His voice cut off at that point and he slowly lowered his hand from his tired eyes. Esther timidly placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to rotate his head to her face.

"I'm sorry…but thank you for telling me."

"…Sure. But let's keep this conversation between the two of us, alright? I don't trust that annoying fairy's big mouth and I don't want Marcassin to get worried…"

"Of course. I understand."

Swaine's eyes softened and a light smile crossed his lips. His dark eyes took in the woman's glistening blue eyes, her silky golden hair, and her sweet, gentle smile. There was something captivating about the look on her face.

However, she turned away and faced forward all too soon. She gazed into the sky, mesmerized once again by the Northern Lights. He was still for a moment before he too turned back to the lights. A comfortable silence settled in the air.

"Huff…huff…just a little further…"

That silence was broken by the sound of someone huffing behind them up the hill. Drippy, carrying the heavy ball once again, plodded his way to where the humans were sitting.

"Huff…There!" He dropped the orb in the snow. "Phew…so, what did I miss?"

"Oh, great," Swaine slapped his palm over his face. "So much for peace and quiet…"

"Oh, shut it, you ol' crank. If it weren't for me back there, that blizzard bear would have turned you two into-"He made exaggerated gestures with his arms, and accidentally hit the ball. With this new force, it began to roll down the hill the other way.

"Huh? Oh flip, not again!"

The fairy ran down the hill, after the runaway ball once again.

Esther turned to face Swaine. "…Perhaps we should get going. We should go back to Yule before everyone gets worried."

"Fine by me," The lanky man got up as well and took a few steps towards her, bent down, and scooped her onto his back again. "Up you go."

Esther found her heart fluttering lightly as she was raised off the ground. For the second time that day, the mechanic had helped her without her asking.

"You know, I never thought you could be so chivalrous, Swaine."

"I can be a gentleman when I want to," He gave her his trade mark smirk over his shoulder. "But enjoy it while you can, because when we reach Yule, you're on your own in terms of getting around."

The man marched through the snow. Esther could see the lovely lights from above dying the snow below in pale colors. When she looked behind she saw his footprints stamped into the snow. The tamer turned back around to accidentally bury her nose into his hair.

His brown mess of curls tickled her nose. The scruffy hair had the faint scent of earth and must, like him. She leaned her head a little more forward. His hair wasn't the best looking do' she had ever seen, but his frizzy, thick curls made a very nice pillow. A warm, scruffy pillow that lulled her to sleep with his rhythmic movements as he walked.


	9. Chapter 9: Hearts on Ice

**AN: Warning; fluff factor will sky rocket in this chapter. Fluff haters (or lovers) should read with caution. :3**

* * *

The snow crunched beneath Swaine's feet as he entered Yule. He shifted Esther on his back and looked behind him.

"Come on, Drippy, we don't have all night!"

The fairy, which was a few meters away, jogged up as he held the indigo orb the best he could.

"Give me a break, mun! I may be strong, but this thing is flipping heavy and I had to carry it the whole way!"

"Well, we're practically here, so let's get a move on."

"Righto…uurgh!" Drippy walked as his endurance began to reach its limit. "So-ah-where to, exactly?"

"The Cat's Cradle, I guess." Swaine said. "I'm pretty worn out and we could all use a little rest."

"Oi, there's a tidy idea! I could sure go for a proper bed right now." Quickening his pace, the fairy skipped behind the thin man.

"Hey, Esther-mm?" Swaine peeked over his right shoulder to see the tamer, only to find her head lolling sleepily against the back of his head.

"Oh. Looks like I have to deal with a sleeping beauty, too."

"Eh? You say somethin', mun?"

"It's nothing. Let's just get to the inn."

However, before he could take another step, something caught his eye. There was a spacious area near the back entrance of the village usually occupied by fishing tomtes or playing children, but it now had a mammoth sized igloo standing over the icy ground. From the outside it looked large enough to fit the entire village and from the inside voices and murmurs floated out.

"What the heck is with this thing?"

"Blimey, what the flip is going on?"

Drippy carefully placed the heavy ball in the snow and came over to the entrance of the dome of snow. A warm light flickered from inside and all he could see was the legs of people. He then saw something that wasn't a foot. It was small with two...shapes attached to its head.

"What's that?" Drippy squinted his eyes.

Suddenly the silhouette turned, revealing a pair of yellow eyes glowing back at the fairy. Before before the fairy could react, the unknown creature zipped out of the igloo and outside.

"Whoa!" Swaine jumped back, alarmed. "What the hell?!"

When he refocused his brain from the surprise, he saw a Medixx flapping in front of his face. The two things attached to its head were a pair of pale yellow wings with lilac feathers at the tips. A little purple cape with a fuzzy collar hung from its unpronounced neck and purred back at the man.

"Wait…Joules?! Is that you?"

It bobbed up and down in the air, eagerly fluttering its wings.

"You mean prince-a-ling's familiar? Then that means-"

Swaine didn't waste another second; he scrambled to the igloo's entry and ducked his way through the low opening the best he could with Esther on his back.

When he reached the inside, he nearly bumped into the several villagers that crowded the edge of the makeshift room. Carefully pushing through the crowd, he squeezed past the people, finding a sixteen year old boy and a young man with black hair kneeling over the resting figure of Cerboreas.

"Feel any better, Cerboreas?" Oliver asked the great beast, who blinked in return.

"A little…thank you…" he whimpered quietly.

Meanwhile, Marcassin was treating the wolf's wounds with his magic, holding his royal staff over the injuries.

"Just hang in there a little while longer. I'm almost done healing your injuries."

Joules swooped to his master's shoulder and lightly tugged at his hair.

"Ow! Joules, wha…"

The Hamlin emperor stopped talking as his green eyes rested on Swaine as he held Esther on his back.

"Hey, glad to see you're in one piece."

"Swaine!" The man jumped to his feet. Oliver and Cerboreas raised their heads to see the man as well.

"You guys okay? There was that big storm and all…"

"We…crashed landed on a nearby island." Marcassin said. "We were snowed in on it by the storm, but once it cleared up, we flew Tengri over here." The sage shifted his eyes down to the wolf. "When we got here, we found Cerboreas here. We're trying to heal his injuries with magic."

Nivo, the shy tomte from before, gently stroked the beast on his head.

"Wolf is in bad shape. Did you see thing-er, or person-who hurt him so?"

"Think so. Did he happen to be an oversized polar bear with bad breath?"

The wolf perked his ears up, alert. His eyes widened.

"Did…Did you-"

"Kick his ass? Pretty much, yeah." The mechanic spared a glance over his shoulder to Esther's peaceful face. "Although it wore us out a bit. Blondie here's fast asleep."

At the mention of her nickname, the tamer's eyes fluttered open.

"Mmmh…huh?" Her eyes blinked to rid them of the rest of the fog of sleep. "What time is it…?"

"Time for you to go to bed, I guess," He smirked. "Have a nice nap?"

"Mm-hmm. Your hair makes a good pillow…_Yawn…_" She mumbled sleepily. As the man's cheeks grew a faint shade pink, Esther's blue eyes widened at the sight of the young wizard, the sage, and Cerboreas.

"Oh! Oliver! Marcassin! Cerboreas!"

The thin man let her get down to the ground. The moment her feet reached the floor, she ran over to the great beast.

"Cerboreas, are you okay?"

"I am fine. I…just need some rest."The wolf replied quietly.

The woman pulled out her harp. Delicately plucking the strings, she sang softly, and a warm light glowed around the wounds. The skin and fur began to shift and creep over the healing scratches. As the Healing Hymn played on, the wolf's breathing steadied and calmed.

As the last note rang out, his injuries were nothing more than illusions from a few moments ago. He slowly got on his four paws, as if testing his own body.

"…Are you all better?"

"Yes. That Hymn did the trick. Thank you…"

"No problem! Don't mention it, boy!" She wrapped her arms around his large muzzle and scratched his ears. His long tail wagged back and forth slightly.

"Um, 'scuse me, muttface," Drippy quipped. "Hate to interrupt this, but I, Lord High Lord of the Fairies, have a couple of questions about that blizzard bear beastie."

The wolf's eyes widened. He nodded for the fairy to continue.

"First one; was that rotter responsible for that nasty blizzard?"

"Yes, partially…"

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

"…I sense another force out there, something stronger. That monster was only a pawn in the powerful force behind this weather."

Marcassin grew concerned. "Wait…like Shadar or the White Witch?"

"No. I feel a magical aurora, something not completely among the living."

"J-Jeepers…like a ghost?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, or some sort of spirit. It is too far away for me to distinguish any details about it, however…"

Drippy scrunched his eyebrows down. He paced on the floor.

"Hmmm…weird spirits…flipping cold weather…crikey, this doesn't make a lick o' sense!" He suddenly perked up.

"Oh! Which reminds me of my next question; when we gave snowball what for, this weird dark orb popped out. You wouldn't happen to have any idea what it is, do you?"

At that exact moment, that very indigo sphere rolled out through the entrance and straight to Drippy.

"Oi? 'Ey, it's moving all by itself-OOII!"

Ignoring the Lord High Lord of the Fairies, the ball leaped up and sat on his head.

"Oi, what the flip, mun-er, ball?"

Cerboreas glared at the orb with intense attention as Oliver and the others crowded around to lay their eyes on the object which Drippy struggled to hold up.

The orb was embraced by an eerie purple glow, shining upwards. Projecting a small light screen in the air, the orb shivered on Drippy's nose. The image on the screen was just a slab of dark, dark blue until two slits of electric blue opened. They were eyes, and pierced their ice-cold glare into their hearts.

"…Mortals…pathetic morons…"

Everyone was frozen in their place as a bone-crackling voice echoed through the air. A thin line of pale blue formed in the shape of a frown. It enlarged and changed shape as the voice spoke.

"You fools…your hearts know nothing…If you so dearly wish to continue to _pester_ my plans, then I _entice_ you to drop by my current home."

The eyes and mouth closed, dissolving into swirls of blue and white. The blur of color settled in the image of a large structure of white. It had pointed tops and was as white as fallen snow. It was a castle of ice and cold, jutting out from the ice beneath it. Sharp blades of frozen water crept along the ground of the building while the top was sprinkled with thousands of snowflakes. It was a nightmarish mansion of ice and snow.

The voice crackled out yet again. "I shall give you until Christmas Day to find me. If you fail to locate my home, then you can say good bye to your heartless world, as it will be completely embraced by ice, uninhabitable."

"Wh…what the hell do you mean by that?!" Swaine demanded. "Why in God's name are you doing this in the first place?!"

"Hmph. Do you really think I'd answer a question like _that_ from the likes of _you_, you pathetic mortal?"

The lanky man felt his blood boil with anger as the voice paid him no mind.

"However, if you somehow manage to actually find me, then be warned; I will not let you walk out of my castle alive, nor will I allow you to stop my plans. Seeking me out is seeking your doom. I'd say you should use your brains for once and if you value your ridiculous excuses of lives or hearts, then I suggest you flee from this world or prepare to die."

With one final snarl, the eyes and mouth vanished into black, and the screen of black melted back into the orb. The sphere began to crack as jagged lines crawled along the surface. It shattered into several pieces that blackened and evaporated into unnatural purple fumes. The smoke swiftly floated away and through the entrance of the igloo.

"Oi! You get back here!"

Drippy darted after the puff of smoke. When he reached the outside, he was welcomed by a gust of cold wind with snowflakes of ice. The wind had picked up, howling faintly.

"Eh? But I thought the snowstorm was over with!"

Oliver and the others crawled out. The snow's icy arms tackled their bodies, penetrating under their skin, sending goose bumps up their bodies.

"Oi, where did that rotter smoke whatsit run off to?"

"I don't see it, Mr. Drippy…" Oliver looked around, but all he saw was a world of white. "I think the wind blew it away."

"Well, flip! He or she just turned tail and ran off like a chicken! When I lay my eyes on it again, that crikey poof of smoke is gonna face the wrath of the Lord High Lord of the Fairies!" Drippy punched the air in front of him with a determined scowl.

"Well, where are we going to find it in the first place?" Swaine crossed his thin arms in front of his chest. "That voice said we've got until Christmas Day to find him, and that's only a couple of days from now!"

Marcassin paced in the snow, holding a staring contest with his swinging feet below him.

"Okay…we know we're looking for a large castle of ice; the question is where can we find a place with that much ice?"

"That thing looked as big as the Hamelin palace to me, if not bigger." Swaine buried his hand into his hair. "That would take a lot of water to make that much ice…"

"Maybe…it's on a glacier?" Esther gently pulled at her side bangs. "I mean, the ocean has plenty of water and space for a palace of ice."

"If it's a huge floating mass of ice we're looking for, than that's a pretty big glacier…but blondie does have a good point."

"It's Esther, Swaine. Not 'blondie'." She planted her fists on her hips. "E-S-T-H-"

"Chill, Esther, I know how to spell." He defensively raised his palms. "I was just teasing."

"Alright, enough bickerin'!" Drippy hopped in the chilly air. "Let's get our rears in gear and go lookin'!"

"Whoa, there, Drippy." Swaine said, "In case you've forgotten, we just beat up an oversized polar bear an hour ago. I don't think we're all in the best shape to scour the entire ocean for a giant glacier. I say we get some sleep at the inn first and then go glacier-hunting."

"Oh, you're just being a lazy bum."

"Hey! I am not! Esther's bones are bruised, I'm tired, and Marcassin and Oliver used up who knows how much magic on that pooch!"Swaine boomed.

Everyone was quiet as the vibration of his yelling faded with the wind. Drippy, who was fired up just moments ago, was taken aback at the lithe man's voice.

"...Okay, the ol' crank has a point."

Swaine glared at the fairy while Drippy turned around to the rest of the party.

"Come on, everyone, let's hit the sack and call it a day." He hopped around and skipped in the direction of The Cat's Cradle with the other four walking behind him.

* * *

"See anything yet, Ollie-boy?"

"No, not yet…"

Oliver scanned his blue eyes below the soaring dragon for anything castle-like, but all he could see was white.

"I still can't believe the entire ocean froze over! It's like the world's largest ice rink!"

Esther stared at awe at the frozen water below her. What was once a series of waves of seawater was now literally the world's largest ice rink-just like she said.

"Oliver! I see someth-oh, wait…" Marcassin brought a hand over his eyes to see better. "It's just another island…" He sighed, disappointed.

"Okay…Let's just keep looking."

"I hope we can really find that monster's lair…we're running out of time."

"Yeah, that thing said Christmas Day, and that's less than twelve hours away, mun!" Drippy continued to scour the world below the dragon as Tengri soared through the sky. Even the dragon seemed worried as he flapped his wings harder against the cold air. His breath came out in puffs of fog from his nostrils.

Esther, instead of looking at the ground, gazed behind her. Swaine sat quietly at the rear of the dragon with a faraway look in his eyes. His thoughts and energy were elsewhere.

"Hey, Swaine?"

He didn't seem to hear her, but then blinked. "Huh? What?"

"Are you okay? You look pretty distracted today…"

"Oh? Um, yeah, I'm fine. Just…just got a little headache."

Esther raised an eyebrow. "…Is that all?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Swaine's right hand crept to his satchel, gripping the bag lightly. Esther didn't pay this small action any mind, but her hand instinctively went to her own bag as well.

"Okay, if you say so…"

* * *

The rest of the day crept by as the numbing air floated along, not paying any mind to the travelers. The five had been flying on Tengri, scanning the frozen ocean for the castle of ice ever since they had departed from Yule the morning before. Although the wind didn't threaten to punch them out of the sky like before, the breeze sent out unpleasant chills up everyone's spines.

* * *

The crackles and snaps of the small fire cast it's soft glow in a circle as four tents stood up around the circle of light on ice. The flap on one of the tents rustled and out came Swaine. He groggily rubbed his bony hand against his eyes.

"_Yawn_…" He sleepily turned his head around, searching for something. His jaded eyes rested on an unusual lump of ice a few meters away. It looked like a mighty wave that was frozen mid-wave.

"That'll work…"

The man dragged his feet as he made his way behind the mound of ice. The ice was frozen in waves, uneven and hilly. Although this allowed more friction between one's feet, you still had to watch your step as you walked. The half awake man somehow managed to walk without tripping over the frozen waves.

After the man disappeared behind the ice, there was the sound of a zipper being pulled and the tinkling liquid and a pause, followed by another _zzip_.

"Ah, much better…" He reemerged from behind the ice, relieved.

He reached for the opening flap of his tent but paused as his eye caught something in his peripheral vision. Turning his head so he could see fully, he saw Esther sitting on a plateau of ice with her back facing him. His ears then heard the plucking of harp strings, going up and down in pitch as she played through the scale.

He quietly walked over to her. The woman was so absorbed in her music that she didn't even notice the footsteps behind her.

"…Evening, Esther."

The instrument nearly jumped out of her hands as she whipped her head around with wide eyes.

"Oh-it's you. Is creeping behind people your new hobby?"

"Haha, very funny," He sat down on the ice next to her. "Anyway, why are you out here practicing at this hour?"

"Oh-um…It's a secret…"

He shrugged. "Okay. Just make sure you don't freeze to death out here, alright?"

"Of course, Swaine. I'm perfectly fine. See?" She held up the pom pom from her jacket.

He nodded. A moment of silence settled over the couple as they stared at the winter sky above. There was no moon, but in its place was millions if not billions of stars of every color and size dotting the sky. The clear night air was silent except for the duo's breaths as they exhaled visible puffs of air.

"…Do you know what time it is, Swaine?"

"Beats me, I don't wear a watch."

"Do you think it's past midnight?"

The man blinked, realizing what she was getting at. "…Oh. I dunno. I'm not sure if it's Christmas Day or still the Eve."

"…Okay…"

She fingered her side bangs with her delicate hands. "…That voice said we'd have until Christmas Day to find his or her lair, and our time limit is almost up, if it isn't already." She tugged harder. "What will happen to everyone once it is Christmas? Will they be okay? Will they freeze to death? W-Will they-they-_sniff_…"

A single tear ran down her cheek. She reached up to wipe it away, but another hand beat hers. A gentle, bony one.

"Hey, it's okay…" Esther turned to the man, surprised by his hushed voice. "Everything will work out in the end. Besides, maybe that voice was just bluffing so we'd give up after a while. I don't really know what tomorrow's gonna be like, but…I'll say this," He said with sudden seriousness in his voice. "We're not going to stop looking for whoever's responsible for this mess, deadline or not. And we will still celebrate. Just a little later this year…"

Esther gazed at him, unable to say anything. Her blue eyes rested on the harp in her hands with an emotion of longing.

"Swaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind if I gave you my Christmas gift early?"

"Wh-what? Wait, you…you have a present for _me_?"

"Mm-hmm. Could I give it to you now? I don't know if it's technically Christmas or not but…"

The man's ears failed to work at that point as he felt the temperature in his cheeks grow hot. He was more surprised that she had actually gotten _him_ a Christmas present-he couldn't care less whether she gave it to him this very moment or thirty years from now.

"Swaine? Hey, are you listening?"

"Huh?" He blinked, now paying attention to the blonde's voice.

"I said can I give you my gift to you now?"

"Oh-uh, sure, knock yourself out."

As the man trained his eyes on her, Esther's hands lifted up her harp. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, as if remembering something from long ago.

Her fingered plucked one string, and then another, and then a couple more. Gentle, delicate notes drifted through the evening air. As her harp playing progressed, she accompanied the song with her singing. A beautiful little serenade floated around them with Esther's slender fingers flicking at each string perfectly and her mouth forming lovely notes from her heart.

The man was stone still, unable to do anything before this songstress. It really was a nice melody and something about the tune mesmerized him. He kept his dark eyes on her hands, and then her starlight lit face, as the light kissed her soft cheeks and her shimmering blue eyes.

At last, her hand plucked the last string, and the air let the last note ring out in the air.

"Wow…You've gotten really good."

She hugged her harp to her chest. "Thank you…I've been practicing it for a long time…"

"Oh? How long are we talking about?"

"About two months."

"You've been practicing that song for two whole months?"

"Yeah…I was worried you wouldn't like it, though…"

Swaine stared at the space between them. He suddenly got up from his spot and walked in the direction of the camp.

"Where are you going?"

"Wait right there," He ordered, "I'll be right back."

He walked towards his tent and crawled in. Esther anxiously fidgeted her lemon yellow hair with her fingers. The thin strands were twisted tightly around her index finger as if trying to comfort her as she waited.

_"Why did Swaine go? Wait-he…he didn't get me a present, did he? And did he leave to get it and give it to me?"_ She smirked._ "Yeah, right. This is __**Swaine**__ we're talking about. Him going through the trouble to get __**me**__ a gift would be like the sun setting in the east-it just doesn't happen!_"

Despite her words, her eyes were glazed over with a mixture of conflicting emotions. Wistful, disappointment, loneliness…

"Oi, Esther! Earth to Esther!"

"W-What?" The tamer snapped out of her trance. Her eyes found Swaine bending in front of her, waving one hand in front of her face while the other hid behind his back.

"Awake now, are we?"

"I-I was just thinking, that's all." She crossed her arms. "Anyway, why did you leave?"

"Well…" His free hand went to his scruffy hair, scratching his scalp. "Y-you gave me your gift so …" Taking a deep breath, his hidden hand hesitantly came from its hiding place, holding a present wrapped in shiny blue paper and a white bow.

"Here. Merry Christmas or whatever."

Esther's eyes widened, surprised at the box shaped gift. Suspicion suddenly clouded her eyes.

"This…This isn't a joke, is it?"

The lanky man's face flashed to confusion. "What? What the hell makes you think that?"

"Just…I'd never expect you of all people would even think about getting me a Christmas present."

He gently shoved the particle into her hands. "W-well, I did."

The mechanic sat back down next to her. Esther held the present carefully, as if it would fall apart at any moment. She examined the size, shape, and weight of the mystery object.

"Relax, blondie; it's a gift, not a bomb."

She faced Swaine for a second, turned her head back towards the present, and slowly tugged at the white ribbon, and then unwrapping the shimmering blue paper.

Sitting in the middle of the paper and atop her lap was a wooden box with an eye-catching carving of a sun design on the top. She placed her hand on it, feeling the etches and grooves of the wood. Her thumb curved under the edge, feeling the clasp of the lid. The lady gradually pushed the lid open.

She gasped softly. The moment the lid was up, the steady hums and clinks of tiny gears vibrated from the bottom of the box, but they were barely audible over the gentle tune that rang out of the box. Twirling in the middle of the box was a small figurine of delicately carved wood with a bright coat of paint. It was a plump little bird with blue and purple feathers, holding a staff in its wing. It was unmistakably a Drongo. As it spun in its pirouette, the figure chirped little notes along with the lullaby of the music box.

The tamer was speechless as she covered her mouth with one hand and her blue eyes stared at the music box. After a few minutes the clockwork of the box slowed down, grinding to a halt, stopping on the last note.

"…Well? What do you think?"

"Wh-where did you find this?" Esther gingerly lowered the lid, feeling the carved-in design again.

"Actually…I made it."

"Y-You made _this_?"

"Yeah, most of it, anyway. I had to hire someone to make the Drongo and to compose that song, but I did the rest."

"Was that supposed to be Gogo?"

"Yeah…Figured you might like that."

The woman's shoulders began to shake slightly. Swaine raised an eyebrow and leaned towards her to get a better look at her face.

"H-huh? Hey, it wasn't supposed to make you cry!"

The man gently placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her body to face him.

"Hey, I didn't mean to make you upset! If you don't like it then-"

"I love it."

"H-huh?"

Esther hugged the box to her chest as if it was her greatest treasure. "I-I love it. No one's ever done something like this for me before." She raised her face, showing off her tear stained face and smile.

"It's the most beautiful thing anyone's ever given me. I love it!"

"R-Really?" Swaine asked, half relieved and half not believing what his ears had told him. "You…you truly like it?"

"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?"

"Um-I don't know. Maybe you wouldn't like the song?"

"You really are an idiot sometimes…" Esther gingerly placed the box to the side of the ice. Her arms curled around his shoulders, catching Swaine by surprise.

"I love it. Thank you _so much_." She murmured into his coat as the fabric absorbed most of the words.

The man's thin arms gradually wrapped around her as well, holding her close.

"…Don't mention it. It was nothing."

"Well, it's something to me." She tilted her face up. "That music box is the greatest Christmas gift I've ever received."

"Okay, then. We can go with that."

They shared a brief laugh, unintentionally moving their heads forward slightly. Their noses barely rubbed against each other when they froze; they're faces were exceedingly close and their lips were only a mere two inches apart.

Eyes widened, breaths halted, and cheeks flushed. Neither one dared to even blink, suddenly aware of this intimacy.

The man's eyes began to remember to function after a moment, and blinked. When he opened his eyes from that split second, his dark eyes saw the same sight-a pretty blonde woman staring back at him-but this time more focused.

He took in the two pools of sapphire blue that made up her eyes. Unconsciously, his hand drifted to her cheek, cupping the soft part of her face. She leaned into his hand, keeping her eyes glued to Swaine's dark eyes. Her right hand gently brushed under his unshaven chin as the stubble tickled her fingers.

"Still haven't learned to shave, have you, Swaine?"

"I do too know how to shave-in case you haven't noticed, we've been on the road for the past week and I didn't bring a razor."

"That or you're just lazy."

He smirked, scratching his stubble against her hand. "Would you prefer it if I did shave?"

"…Nah. It's fine the way it is." Her hand crept lightly up his jaw.

"Hey, that tickles."

"Didn't know you were the ticklish type."

"Well, now you do-"

He was cut off as the space between their faces was erased, particularly their lips. Esther's mouth was pressed lightly against his. At first his eyes stretched open as wide as they could with surprise, but then closed shut. Pulling her closer to him with his other arm and still cupping her cheek he leaned in even more, overwhelmed by the warmth of her soft lips. Esther's slender hands moved around his neck and ran through his scruffy curls.

After several moments, the soft, lingering kiss reluctantly ended. The man attempted to open his eyelids, discovering it to be a difficult task. His eyes gradually refocused on the tamer in front of him as he panted for his breath faintly. He suddenly began to laugh. Esther flushed a lovely shade of red, staring at the lithe man.

"W-what's so funny?"

"Ha ha…N-nothing. It's just…I was once a thief and I could steal anything I had too, yet…"

"Yet what?"

"…yet…you, the exact opposite of a thief…stole something from me…"

"W-What? Since when did I steal something from you?"

"Five months ago, you stole my very first kiss. And now you just took my second."

Esther's face was extra-bright red, covering her embarrassed mouth with her hand.

"Uh…um…I…"

Swaine's thin finger gently tugged a strand of her golden hair behind her ear. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's not like you can return them."

"Um…so that was your first…kiss?"

"Well, with a girl, if you catch my drift. I wasn't into girls much when I was Gascon and thieves don't have the time for romance."

Esther blinked. Swaine admitting something of his past-especially his royal childhood-was something very rare, and especially so openly.

"…That was actually my first kiss, too…"

"Hm? You mean back in the hospital room?"

"Mm-hmm…"

Silence. Neither one knew what to say. Swaine scratched the back of his head as Esther twirled her finger around her blonde hair.

"…Drippy would probably never let us hear the end of it if he saw us…kissing."

"Yeah…And my father would jump a good yard in the air."

"And my brother would try to make us get together every chance he got."

"And Oliver could never look at us the same way again!"

The silence was replaced by chuckling floating through the icy air. Dark eyes met up with blue orbs in the dim starlight.

"…Oh, screw it." The man's thin arms pulled the tamer close without warning and before she could make another sound, he clamped his mouth gently onto hers. The corners of her lips tugged upwards, smiling behind the kiss. Her hands curled up to his chest where they clutched onto the fabric of his green coat. She could feel the mechanic's stubble brushing up lightly against her chin.

"Ahem,"

Neither one moved, far away in their kiss.

"I said, _ahem_, lovebirds!"

That did it. They broke apart abruptly and whipped around to the welsh voice.

"Hoho, sorry, love doves, but am I interuptin' something?"

"D-DRIPPY?!"

The fairy chuckled, jiggling his lantern in the nippy air. "Hoho! I knew the two of you bicker like an old married couple, but I didn't see this coming! All we're missing is some mistletoe!"

"H-How long have you been standing there?!" Swaine demanded with a holly red face.

"Um, let's see…I couldn't sleep, heard some music, got out and investigated, and came here all stealthy-like, see? Just had to hide out in the shadows to get a good seat."

"So…that means…!" Esther clapped her hands over her face, overwhelmed of what that meant-the fairy had seen and heard just about _everything_.

The fairy held his stomach as it ached with laughter. He was cut short as a firm hand gruffly plucked him from the ice and held his nose to Swaine's furious face.

"Listen here, buster, if you mention _any_ of this to a _single soul_, and I mean _anyone_, then I'll personally and by myself _shoot_ that big annoying pie-hole of yours." Deadly serious, he pierced his threatening glare at Drippy's eyes. "Are we _clear_?"

"H-Hey, easy there, mun. No need to get youer knicker-"

"I thought I said _are we_ _clear_?" The man repeated with a voice dripping with something deadly.

"C-C-Crystal, mun."

"…Good." The mechanic slowly placed the fairy back onto the ice. With eyes nothing but dark slits, he growled, "Now I want you to go back to your tent without another word about any of this. Understand?"

"Y-Yes, mun."

Drippy took one step back, then another, and then dashed at a lightning speed towards the camp as if his tidy life depended on it. Now free of the pest, the man sighed heavily in the cold air.

"…I still don't trust that annoying little fairy's mouth."

"I don't know. That's the first time in a while I've seen Drippy that scared."

"Well, he'd better be. Or else he'll have to say hello to my little friend." Reaching into his jacket pocket, his hand pulled out his gun. "And it's loaded."

Twirling his gun for a second, he flipped it back to his side and cocked his head. His eyes found Esther standing right by him holding the music box close to her chest.

"…Um, it's getting late. We should probably go back to camp, too."

"Oh. Yeah, you're right…" He scratched the back of his head like he always did, pushing his face downward.

"Hm?" He suddenly bent down to the ice, brushing some snow away.

"Swaine? What's wrong?"

His dark eyes hovered over the surface intensely.

"…What the…? That can't be right!"

"Swaine? What is it?" Esther stared at the spot that captivated the lithe man's interest.

There was a flash of movement under the ice, just for a spit second. The tamer blinked.

"H-huh? What was that?"

"Either we're both seeing things or something's up with this-hey, there it is again!"

Pointing a finger at the ice, there was once again some movement. When they looked closer, they saw…flashes of white and…

"Wait-aren't those…paw prints?"

There was another dash under the ice, but this time leaving a clear imprint on the underside of the ice in the perfect shape of a paw.

"Wait a minute…are there weird white animals running under this ice?"

"That's what it looks like to me…"

Just then, the ice shattered as a white wolf leaped out with a twirl of its body, landing perfectly on the ice. He growled at the couple as Esther shoved the box into her satchel and Swaine flashed out his pistol.

"Esther, get behind me, I've got this!"

Before the tamer could reply, a dozen more beasts jumped through the ice, surrounding them.

"…You were saying?"

"O-Okay, change of plans-you deal with the ones behind me, alright?"

"Got it!"

The couple got in their fighting stances. Esther's harp strings shone silver in the dim light as Swaine's gun glinted with a dull click.

There was then the sound of thunder rumbling from above the cloudless sky. Claps of thunder snapped in the air as bolts of electricity pierced their gleaming blades into the snow white wolfs around them. Electrocuted to a crisp, they yelped one last time and collapsed on the ice, transforming into dark clouds of smoke that floated away.

"Are you guys okay?"

The tamer and the exthief whipped around to the voice.

"Oliver!"

The young wizard, still in his winter clothes and messy mop of hair, stood there holding his wand. "Jeepers…What happened?"

"Oh-uh-ah-" Swaine stumbled with the words on his tongue. "W-we couldn't sleep, and-um-thought some fresh air would help…?"

The teenager's eyebrow rose up an inch-sensing the man was hiding something-but blinked, too polite to question his behavior any further.

"Well, are you guys alright? Those monsters didn't injure you, did they?"

"Oh no, we're fine!" Esther chirped. "You came in just in time with that thunder spell!"

"Neato! So…where did those guys come from?"

"They came up from under the ice-take a look!" Esther walked over to the cracked hole in the ice and pointed at the surrounding ground. Paw prints stamped the few spots of snow and perfectly imprinted underneath the frozen ground were more animal tracks.

"Jeepers…how did they get down there?"

"That's what I want to know."

The savior pressed his hand against the paw shapes as if the ground would tell him something. His gaze pierced the prints beneath the ice and then heavenwards to the starry sky.

"Hey, Swaine, do you know which way is north?"

"Hmm…See that shiny blue star in the sky?" He pointed his gloved finger above at a large star with a tail as big as a kite. "That's the Northern Sapphire-a star that always shows where north is. And according to its position, north is that way."

His thin arm stretched out in the direction of the star.

"…So that means those monsters were running north." Oliver said as he pointed at the prints-facing the direction of the Northern Sapphire.

"So, if those wolfs were connected to the other snow monsters and that voice, then maybe…"

"…They were headed towards that guy's ice mansion?"

The young wizard got back to his feet. "I think so. It's worth a look."

"Wait, you mean right now?" Swaine jabbed his finger into his palm with an arched eyebrow.

"Um…Yeah! The sooner we deal with them, the sooner everyone can celebrate Christmas!"

The boy was half expecting the man to bark with protest, but instead shrugged nonchalantly. "Alright, I'll go wake up Marcassin from his beauty sleep." He strolled over to the camp, towards the sage's tent.

Oliver, blinking at Swaine's reaction, turned towards Esther, as if awaiting for an explanation.

"Uh, I guess I'll go call Tengri…" Esther said as she turned her back towards him while rummaging in her bag for the Dragon Horn.

The wizard, not knowing what else to do, walked in the direction of the camp to find Mr. Drippy, accompanied only by the dull clomps of his boots on the icy ground.


	10. Chapter 10: Silent Night?

"See anything, Mr. Drippy?"

"Not yet, Ollie-boy! Sorry, mun!"

The soft whistle of the bone-numbing air rushed past the five as they soared through the evening air on the majestic dragon. Oliver tightened his grip on Tengri's collar, feeling his fingers being bitten by frostbite.

"…Hold on, mun!" Drippy shouted from his perch between the dragon's horns. "…I…I see somethin'! Somethin' castle-like! And white! Up ahead!"

The wizard's eyes grew large, alert at the fairy's shout. The horizon was foggy with the haze of dim nighttime, but the boy could make out the pale silhouette of a large, pointed structure.

"I think that's it, Mr. Drippy!"

"Tidy! So let's land!"

The dragon chirped, gave his wings a swift flap, and dove towards the ground. He glided in the chilly air before slowing down and settling his hind legs on the ice. The four humans slid off his back and the fairy jumped down.

"Blimey…That is one big huck o' ice." Drippy raised a small hand over his eyes, staring at the incredible height of the ice castle.

"No kidding…It'll take all night just to find whoever owns that creepy voice in there." Swaine scratched his curly hair.

"That voice…said we had until Christmas to find him…" Esther whispered. "…Does anyone know how much time we have until midnight?"

"Mmm…I'd say about an hour, give or take a minute." Drippy wiggled his red lantern as he spoke.

"W-what?! Only an hour? Wait, how do you know? You're not wearing a watch…"

"Oh, when you're a Lord High Lord of the Fairies, that sort of thing is child's play! I can sense it in my lantern!" He gave his nose lantern a little flick with his hand.

"Oh, great. We have one hour to scour the entire place and find Mr. Scary Voice-just great." The ex-thief's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"…Wait! I've got an idea!"

"Eh? How?" Swaine questioned the wizard. "Did you learn some handy spell for finding people or somethin'?"

Oliver dug into his pocket and pulled out something small that jingled faintly like metal. In his palm sat a simple key with a silver blade.

"Remember the Conductor? That pink bunny with the top hat and suit?"

"What, that creepy guy we helped with those rifts?"

"Yeah. He gave us this, the Philmobile key!"

"So you think that old key will still work and summon that car from three years ago?"

"I think it's worth a shot…It'd be a lot faster than by foot."

The boy faced the empty horizon behind him, placed his fingers into his mouth, and gave a sharp whistle. The strident note rang out in the lonely air, followed by cold silence.

"…Darn." Oliver hung his head. "Sorry, guys…"

"It's okay, Oliver," Esther patted his shoulder. The boy looked up to her blue eyes. He gave a half-hearted smile, but his expression suddenly grew focused, as if sensing something out of the ordinary.

"…Oliver?"

"Shh." His eyes scanned his surrounding, tuning in with his ears.

There was a rumbling coming from the dark horizon. As it got louder, it became the recognizable purr of an engine accompanied by the hum of the tires. A shape steadily approached the party. The shadow emerged from the darkness in the form of a mechanical car. The body sported a fresh coat of yellow paint with showy exhaust pipes and a red, removable roof-the Philmobile 2000. Driving all on its own, it screeched to a halt right in front of the wizard, opening its four doors automatically.

"Wait-_four _seats?"

Drippy hopped on the hood, inspecting the mobile. "That's flippin' funny-I know in my lantern that this thing had _one_ seat last time." His nose inched towards the inside of the car. Unlike the model three years ago, this one had two seats in the front and two more in the back. The entire car was larger, made to accommodate four people.

"Oi, Ollie-boy! There's a note here!"

Marcassin reached for the folded over note attached to the steering wheel. His well-manicured fingers lifted the paper, uncovering the contents of a doodle of a Christmas tree and some scribbled words.

_"Dearest Oliver,_

_ I trust that you are well. You may or may not remember me, but I prepared you a little something for the holidays. I figured you'd like to give your friends a spin in the Philmobile 2000, so I made some adjustments-as you have probably noticed by now, more seats! Behold, the Philmobile 4000! It works pretty much the same way the old one did-with a few new features, of course. However, the good news is its automatic for the most part. This model can handle any road, any terrain, any time. All you have to do is steer! I hope this comes in handy and that you like it. Now drive safely and tell your passengers to fasten their seat belts!_

_ Your friend,_

_ The Conductor"_

"Huh. Who would have thought rabbit ears could do this sort of magic?" Swaine mused as he stared curiously at the seats.

"Neato! Hop in, everyone!" The wizard leaped into the driver's seat as Marcassin sat in the passenger's seat and Swaine and Esther occupied the back. Meanwhile Drippy bravely gripped on the twin headlights that suck up like a pair of horns.

"Ready when you are, buntin'!"

"Okay…Let's roll!"

The boy twisted the key into the key slot, and welcomed by the roar of the engine as clouds of smoke sputtered out.

"…You sure this is a good idea?" Swaine nervously mumbled.

"Would you rather stay out here?" Esther casually propped her elbow on the door and glanced at the man.

"N-No, of course not!"

Before the bickering could continue, the entire car zoomed forward, leaving only tire tracks and some exhaust smoke behind. Oliver pushed on the gas and accelerated up the ramp that led to the castle's doors. They opened automatically, and the car zipped right past the tall slabs of ice.

"W-Wow! Oliver, this is fun!" Esther gripped excitedly on the door as they turned around a corner. Meanwhile, the fairy clutched onto the headlights tightly.

"Oi, this is flipping fun, if you ask me! Yeehaw!"

Changing gears, the wizard shifted to a higher speed. The moment the tires made contact with the smooth ice, the tires melted into thicker wheels specially made for slippery surfaces.

"Whoa! Oliver, how did you do that?"

"I-I didn't." He said over his shoulder to the blonde. "At least, I don't think I did…"

"Looks like that rabbit creep was telling the truth in his note." Swaine stared at the new tires curiously. "He said it's all automatic and it could roll on any kind of road… or something along those lines."

The engine purred fiercely and steadily as it drove through the long halls of polished ice. Tall columns of frozen water stood up against the shining walls also made of the cold solid. Ornate chandeliers of thousands if not millions of droplets hung grandly from the far up ceiling with detailed designs of snow fractals littering every surface. Everything, from the skinny pentagon windows with their snow-woven curtains to the thick slabs that made up the endless halls of even more rooms, was made out of pure ice.

"Brrr…man, it's freezing in here! Haven't they ever heard of a heater?" The scruffy man rubbed his arms as the tamer did the same.

"It is pretty chilly…It's like being in a building of frozen glass."

"More like a frozen hell."

The car slowed to a cruising speed, humming softly. Oliver turned the wheel, gliding the car around the corner. What he found were similar halls as silent as the ice that formed them.

"…Isn't it quiet?"

"Yeah…a bit too quiet, if you ask me."

The wizard pushed the breaks, grinding the Philmobile to a halt. They took off their seat belts, opened the doors, and stepped out.

"Isn't it strange? Why aren't there any monsters fighting us or trying to get us out?"

"Either they're all on a holiday vacation or something's up." The lanky man walked up to a nearby table that held up a vase of ice. He gently tapped his finger against it as if testing to see if it was really made of frozen water. His answer was a touch that was chilling to the bone, and he quickly jerked his hand away.

"Man, this place is like an ice museum." He bent forward to the Blizzard Blooms that sprouted from the vase. They flourished in the nippy air and proudly showed off petals of ice fractals. He caught a whiff of the flowers, giving off the scent of a crisp winter day. His thoughts were severed back to reality at Drippy's bombastic voice.

"Blimey, it'll take all flippin' year to nose around for that creepy voice!"

"Jeepers…No kidding." Oliver glided his gaze in both directions of the long hallway. The doors stretched out for what seemed like forever. "How are we going to find that voice?"

A low, sadistic chuckle suddenly echoed from the air. Everyone froze in place with held breaths.

"I suppose I should be congratulating you for discovering my humble home. I also suppose I should be giving you a proper welcome."

"Who the hell are you?!" Swaine demanded as he took slow backwards steps towards the Philmobile. "And why in the sages are you making our world into a giant's icebox?!"

"Hmph. Like I said before, why on earth would I tell you that?"

"Where are you? Show yourself!" Marcassin turned his head around, sending his lovely hair flying behind him frantically. "I, Marcassin, the Emperor and Great Sage of Hamelin, order that you stop this madness at once!"

"Oh, _really?_ You puny little human…You'd really think I'd have any respect or value towards something as petty as a long title? And such a long one it is, especially for such an unmanly lad as yourself-why, I could have sworn you were simply a flat-chested woman!"

The sage's face grew bright red as an embarrassed squeak slipped through his lips. Oliver, Esther, and Swaine remained quiet while Drippy failed to suppress a chuckle.

"Pfft-pft-ha-pffft-!"

"Drippy!" Esther hissed with glaring blue eyes.

The echoing voice continued. "Do you still wish to pester with me so? It grows ever so annoying after awhile. Ever since you harmed my dear white tiger-"

"Wait-that white tiger at Ding Dong Dell? _You_ were responsible for it?"

"Of course I was. Who did you think it was; the tooth fairy?"

"You…you…" The tamer clenched her teeth. "How can you speak of this so lightly, you monster!?"

"…Do you care to elaborate?" Something changed in the voice's tone as it grew dark and distasteful.

"You…you just released that beast on that kingdom with the intent to freeze every man, woman, child, to death! Just to become frozen corpses! And you…I bet you're behind that polar bear in The Glittering Grotto! You…you-"She stomped her right foot against the ice. "How can you just throw all those innocent lives away like they're worthless!? You-you sick bas-!_"_

_ "_ENOUGH!" The roar vibrated the entire castle, sending shivers up everyone's spines. "I've had enough of your foolish babbling! Either be gone at once or seek your death, you heartless fools! You _insipid_ group of pathetic morons!"

"Oh, just shut your trap already, you son of a b%$# !" Swaine boomed with tight fists. "The only fool around here is you, and a damn fool at that!"

"SILENCE!"

The ice beneath the party's feet began to rumble and rise, taking the shape of a hand big enough to grab an elk. The hand of ice reached towards the humans, who attempted to flee in the opposite direction. The fingers of cold caught a hold of one of their legs and pulled back sharply.

"Oliver! No!"

"Whoa!" The savior was raised in the air as he dangled by his right foot. After a split second the boy was pulled down under the floor where the hand had originally came from. They dove into the ground that gave way, forming a ditch in the ice.

"Ollie-boy!"

"Mr. Drippy!" Oliver stretched his hand out in a final attempt for freedom. His hopes were dashed however as the ice above him started to grow back over the surface, separating the wizard from his friends.

"No! Ollie-boy!"

"Mr. Drip-"

The frozen floor grew back into its original, flat state, cutting the savior's voice off. The Lord High Lord of the Fairies stared through the transparent ice with wide eyes.

"N-No! No, mun!" He fell to his tiny knees with fists against the floor. The fairy saw the boy's mouth open and close frantically as if he was screaming for help before his blurry silhouette faded away.

"No…no no no no no NO NO! Ollie-boy!" He shouted as he pounded his fists against the cruel ice. A purple mitten that belonged to Marcassin landed on Drippy's shoulder.

"Drippy, calm down. Take a deep breath."

"…Alright. Haaahhh…haaahhh…Okay, I'm better now."

"There! Now will you shut up?" The echoing voice from before continued to vibrate the very air.

"You just pulled that stunt just to shut our mouths?!" Swaine exclaimed. "Blondie's right-you're nothing but a damn-"

"Would you like for me to take you to meet the same fate as your little friend too?"

"Why you-! Where did you take Oliver?"

"Sorry, my scruffy guest, my lips are sealed. All I'll tell you is he is in my company, where he will freeze to death."

"Damn you!"

"I estimate you'll have about an hour to properly save your friend from his demise. By then this entire, heartless world will experience death's sweet kiss as well-including you. So instead of throwing a tantrum, I'd either accept your fate or flee this heartless world."

"Wait!" Esther called out. "What do you mean, 'heartless world'? Why are you doing this?"

Instead of getting an oral answer, her reply was a sharp icicle crashing right in front of her feet.

"…Well, I guess _that_ conversation is over." Swaine threw his arms up. "Now what?"

"We go look for buntin, you ol' crank!" Drippy hopped like an agitated ball. "We can't just sit on our bottoms while he's turning into a flipping human popsicle!" He leaped back into the Philmobile, waiting for the other three humans to join him.

"Whatcha waiting for, slow pokes? Jump in!"

"Oh sure, like we know how to drive that thing."

The fairy blinked, dumbstruck, but shook his lantern. "Well-ah-then we've got to figure it out, snappy!"

"Hey, I'm a mechanic, not a miracle worker! And Marcassin's a sage, Esther's a tamer, and you're just a nuisance!"

"Watch it you grouchy-ah, flip, we don't have time for bickerin'!" Leaping out of the car, he paced on the ice.

"Well, if we can't use that set of wheels, then we'll have to go by foot!"

"That's actually a good idea." Marcassin turned to Esther and Swaine. "We should split up and each look in a different area of the castle."

"Oi! Hold it, prince-a-ling! I actually think we should do it in pairs. Y'know, if we run into anything itching for a fight." He gave the exthief and tamer a mysterious grin. The thin man eyed the fairy suspiciously.

_"Wait a minute…he's not planning on doing what I think he is, is he?"_

"Okay, muns, listen up- Marcy and I are gonna check out those halls we just passed a minute ago for Ollie-boy while you two lovebirds go nose around in the opposite direction!"

_"Yep, he deliberately paired me up with blondie. Why am I not surprised?"_

"Hey, lay off of the nicknames, okay?"

"Sure, mun, sure. I was just…'teasing'." He said with a wink. While Marcassin stared at the scene utterly confused, the mechanic clenched his teeth.

"Unless you would rather be with me, or have Esther hang with me while you tag along with your brother."

Swaine blinked. "Uh-nah, I'm fine with little miss familiar tamer." He crossed his arms over his chest.

_"Esther with an annoying little fairy who can hardly fend for himself-there's no way he could protect Esther if something happens. And there's no way that I'm going with him, either…"_

"Tidy! Let's get a move on, muns!"

* * *

The clops of the couple's boots floated through the air as they walked forward on the ice. They inspected the halls of frozen water for any signs of the savior. Their eyes caught sight of paintings out of snow of blizzards, columns of fractal designs, and windows exposed to the dark night outside, but nothing concerning their friend.

"Okay…if I was a creepy voice that wanted to freeze the entire world, where would I hide a wizard?"

"I'm not sure asking that is gonna get us any answers, Esther."

"Well, excuse me for trying to find our friend!"

The man sighed. "Okay, I guess you have a point. But what were you thinking, they'd just lock him up in the kitchen?"

The woman rolled her blue eyes. "Of course not, silly." She was interrupted by the low rumbling of her stomach.

"So you _were_ thinking of the kitchen? Haha!"

"I-it's just-hey, a girl's got to eat, too!"

With a smirk, the man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sandwich which he promptly broke into two. He passed one half to Esther.

"Here, eat this. No use in roaming around an ice mansion with an empty stomach."

"Oh…" She wrapped her slender fingers around the bread. "Thank you."

He took a bite out of his half before answering with a full mouth. "Sure, don't mention it."

The blonde was about to scowl him at his poor manners before she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

He swallowed before saying, "Eh? Something up, Esther?"

"…Of course! Why didn't I think of it before?"

"What?"

"Swaine, we have to find the dungeon of the castle!"

"Eh? Why?"

"Come on, Swaine-nearly every castle has a dungeon for prisoners, right?"

"Mm-hmm…"

"And Oliver was taken _underneath_ the ice, remember? And I bet that voice considers him a 'prisoner' or something. A prison cell is the perfect place for a hostage to freeze to death!"

She blinked, surprised at the words that flew from her mouth. "…Wait, did I just say what I think I said?"

"If I didn't know you better, I'd consider you a sadistic weirdo." Smirking he nodded his head. "But I'll admit you may have a good point."

"Yeah! Now we just have to find some stairs leading down there…"

"I think I've got a faster way."

"Really? How?"

"Just stand back and watch."

"Um, okay…"

She walked over to the side with her back to the icy wall. "How's this?"

"Perfect. Out you come, boy!"

A green orb of light leaped out from the man's chest. Gunther flexed his arms, grunting excitedly. He pounded his fists against his body like a wild ape.

"Ready to rumble, Gunther?"

The hurlabaloo grunted a yes, hopping in place.

The man laced his fingers together, cupping his hands, and lowered them to the ground. Gunther placed his foot into his master's hands. Swaine lifted the familiar up, grunting with distress.

"Uurgh…Geez, Gunther, what did you have for dinner, cement?"

The mechanic felt another pair of hands curling under his bony fingers. The extra pair of hands assisted in the lifting of the familiar.

"Need a hand?"

"Yeah, thanks, Esther." The man said over the Hurlabaloo's broad shoulders.

"So…now what?"

"We're gonna toss Gunther here up in the air."

"What? Why? How is that going to help us get to the dungeon?"

"Simple; the dungeon is most likely below the ice, right under our feet." He gave his boot a tap on the ground. "If we give Gunther some momentum, then he can probably punch through the ice no problem."

"Oh, I get it! We're making a short cut!"

"Yup. And Gunther's punch is the key."

"Okay…You ready, boy?"

The familiar actually raised a finger up. Pulling his spiked hat off of his head, he grabbed a pair of teal goggles. He pulled them over his eyes, tugged at the rubber strap behind his head, and released it, resounding in a loud snap. With his eye gear on, he gave the humans a thumbs up.

"Okay, boy, enough with the show; we don't have all day."

"Ready, Swaine?"

"Yeah. On the count of three…One…two…THREE!"

The creature was sent soaring upwards. He was tossed so high he could nearly touch the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling at peak of his toss.

Esther's hand was quickly clutched by Swaine's bony fingers.

"Come on, we have to get out of the way!"

Pulling the woman to the side with him, the couple now stood against the wall on the opposite edge of the room. The familiar clenched his fist as a ball of flames surrounded it. He fell towards the ice with gravity's aid, giving him an extra push. A split second later his fist of flame made contact with the ground, sending out deep cracks from the point of impact. The floor surrendered to the might of the creature, loudly shattering into hundreds of shards.

The cracking of ice was followed by a period of quiet until the man's voice called out.

"…Hey! Gunther! You in one piece down there?"

A grunt came from the hole in the ground that the familiar had created.

"I guess that's a yes," Swaine carefully took a step towards the edge. He was greeted by a five yard drop to the castle's secret lower floor.

"Wait here. I'm gonna go down and catch you." He approached the hole, preparing to fall down.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Don't worry, that fat ass of yours isn't that heavy- I'll be able to catch you just fine."

"H-Hey!" A furious hue of red splashed onto Esther's cheeks while the man smirked as he chuckled.

"Chill, Esther, I was just kidding."

"My butt is just fine! And that's not what I'm worried about!"

"Eh?"

"You're about to drop down a fifteen foot drop onto a hard floor! What if you hurt yourself? Then I'll be stuck up here!"

"Of course. Which is why I'm not going to 'drop down'."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

His hand reached for his gun. "Get a load of this."

_Pow!_

A black cord with a claw at one end shot out of the barrel and soared up to the chandelier on the ceiling. With a click, the claw clutched onto the ice lights. Swaine gave it a few tugs before he stepped out into the empty space of the hole. The cable grew tight and allowed him to swing in the cold air. His thumb flicked on some sort of tiny leaver. The cord grew longer as the coil inside the gun hummed, steadily lowering the man to the ground below.

When his feet touched the floor, he flashed a confident grin up to the tamer. "Whatcha think?"

"W-wow! I didn't know your gun could do that!"

"I've added a few more features to it over the years." He replied as the cord retracted back down the barrel. "Anyway, ready to jump down?"

"O-okay…"

Esther approached the edge, looking down at the man with outstretched arms.

"…Are you sure about this?"

"Relax, Esther. I'll catch you."

A tense moment passed. She took a deep breath, stared at the ex-thief, and leaped forward.

A split second later, she found herself held up in a pair of thin arms.

"See? What'd I tell ya'?"

Esther blushed. "Um, yes. Thanks…"

A shy smile stretched across her face, mirrored by the man's grin. However, a loud cracking noise interrupted the intimate moment.

"Huh?" Carefully putting the woman back on her feet, Swaine turned his head left and right. "What was that?"

_CR-CRACK!_

The blonde gasped, gazing up. "Swaine, look out!"

"Huh? Where-OW!"

A large lump of hard ice landed on Swaine's head with a dull bonk. The man's eyes grew unfocused as his vision doubled and swirled in front of him. He stumbled like a drunkard, feeling his sense of balance crumbling away.

"Swaine! Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." He wobbled to his left, "just dandy…" then his right, "just tell me when the room stops spinning…" and then his legs collapsed, deranged by the bump on his brain.

"Swaine!"

Esther caught the man in her arms, feeling his weight pulling towards the ground. She lifted his head from her shoulder. Eyes closed, relaxed mouth, an unresponsive blank expression on his face. The tamer ran a hand through his messy hair. A swelling lump was planted onto his scalp.

"Oh no…" Her fingers crept to his pressure point on his throat. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she felt a pulse.

"Well, I can't carry you, so I guess we're stuck here until you wake up."

Dragging the unconscious body with her, she walked towards a wall, carefully laid Swaine down against the cold ice, and sat down next to him.

"_Swaine…I hope you wake up soon…"_

* * *

"Flip, this room is empty, too, mun! What about youer room?"

"…I'm afraid this one is empty as well."

Drippy sighed and dragged his feet out of the room. "Knickers…We'll never find Ollie-boy at this rate! We'll all be stuck here 'till New Years!"

"There must be a faster way to locate him…" Marcassin crossed his arms over his chest with borrowed brows.

"Blimey, I sure wish there was, Marcy. How many rooms have we poked our noses into?"

"I don't know…I've lost count." He gazed his green eyes down the hall of seemingly endless doors. "And there are still so many more to go."

"Knickers, knickers, knickers…" The fairy nodded his large nose sadly. The already tall doors towered above the fairy's head as if mocking at him to give up the fruitless search.

"Well…this castle isn't gonna look for buntin' itself."

"Yes, you're right…"

* * *

"Uugh…ow…"

"Swaine? Swaine, are you awake?"

The man's eyes squinted open, blinked a few times, and sluggishly raised the curtain of his eyelids. When his blurry vision had regained some clarity, he discovered Esther's face hanging above his head.

"Ow…what happened?"

"Do you remember when you used your gun's grapple hook to lower yourself down here? I think it loosened a chunk of ice from that chandelier."

"And I take it that it fell right on my head?"

"Yeah…"

He brought his torso up into a sitting position. Holding a hand to his head, he mumbled, "Damn ice. After all this is over, I am never going near an ice cube as long as I live."

The tamer gave him a joking grin. "What if it's a hot summer's day?"

"I live in Hamelin, remember? We don't have weather."

"Oh…I forgot."

Swaine carefully got to his feet. Esther stood up as well, standing by him as if he would fall down at any moment.

"Wait! Are you sure you're well enough to stand?"

"Chill, blondie, I'm a grown man, not a newborn."

"But that ice left a pretty big bump on your head that knocked you out. Shouldn't you at least rest a bit more? "

"I'm fine. I just have a little headache." His thin fingers ruffled his scalp where the painful bruise sat. "Wait-how long was I out?"

"Not very long, about five minutes."

"And how long do we have 'till midnight?"

"…Oh…I don't know."

"Then we'd better stop standing around here and search this place, 'eh?" He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.

She gazed in the direction he was pointing in. A shocked gasp escaped her lips as she stepped back. The man cocked an eyebrow. Turning around, he shifted his line of sight behind him. His face suddenly paled.

The 'dungeon' was more like something from a nightmare. Prison cells lined the walls with thick bars, caging their occupants. They were not housing humans, but bizarre silhouettes, hidden away in the back, under the blankets of shadows. Struggled breaths and pained moans vibrated through the air. Dark fluids oozed lazily from the shadows over the ice, painting the floor a sticky blue with a horrible stench. In front of each cell stood a column, as if on guard. Each one held a different colored orb that eerily gleamed in the dull light.

"Wait…those balls are exactly like the ones that came from the other monsters!" Esther jogged up to a sphere with a deep magenta hue. When she placed her finger against it, she discovered it to be quite smooth and cold to the touch.

A low growl grumbled from the darkness of the cage. Esther trained her eyes on the shadows. It was difficult to make out the disfigured silhouette but she could sense it was approaching the light. A shape fidgeted its way out of the black curtain, revealing a frightening sight.

A bloody limb with claws as fingers. It was only half covered in skin and matted feathers accompanied it by a few spots of grey bone.

Before the woman saw any more-as the creature continued to approach the cell's bars-a calloused hand covered her eyes and pulled her backwards. A fearful squeak slipped past her lips before the rest of her voice got caught in her throat. Her chest heaved up and down out of pure shock.

"Sh-shh. C-Calm down, Esther…"

"Swaine…?"

"Y-yeah, its m-me." His voice came out in stuttering whispers. While the tamer's eyes were protected from the sight by Swaine's shivering hand, the mechanic's eyes grew wide at the grotesque monster. The rest of its body was in a similar state to its limb-it was as though the beast had exited his mother's womb far too early, still developing. The creature, weakly retreating to the shadows, moaned with distress and misery.

"…The hell is this place?!" He whispered, "What kind of dungeon is this?! It's more like a messed up biology lab!"

"S-Swaine…I think this is where that voice makes those m-monsters."

"Yeah…those orbs must be like their life force."

He gently tugged the woman away from the cages and down the hall, still covering her eyes.

"Hey, Swaine, where are we going? I can't see!"

"We gotta get out of here," His dark eyes took in the dark, terrifying, half-alive creatures. He gripped onto her waist protectively while his other hand firmly rested over her eyes.

"I'll guide you out of here. Just hang on."

"But-"

"Esther, listen to me. This place is a mess and is full of more of those…things. I can't let you see this. Forgive me for swearing, but you have to believe me when I tell you this place is just #$%ed up."

His hand was violently shaking now, almost failing to stop her line of sight. "Please, Esther…I've already seen some messed up stuff on the streets, and this is just as bad, if not worse. I can't let you see this. It's…It's just…"

A delicate hand gently squeezed the man's hand that was on Esther's waist.

"It's okay, Swaine. I believe in you."

There was a pause before he answered, "Alright. Let's go."

* * *

"Ollie! Ollie-boy!"

"Oliver! Oliver, if you can hear us, say something!"

Marcassin and Drippy hollered out in the silent hallways. The only other sound was the roar of the wind outside.

"Oi, Prince-a-ling, how much time do we have left?"

The emperor reached into his jacket pocket. His fingers wrapped around a silver pocket. With a flick of his finger, the lid flipped open.

"…Oh no…"

"What, mun? Don't tell me we're out of time!"

"No, but we're almost."

"Oh boy…how bad is it?"

"Five minutes."

"…Sorry, can you repeat that, mun? A little louder?"

"Less than five minutes."

"Oh, knickers, knickers, knickers! Flip, this is worse than knickers! Oh no, no, no…" Drippy's head swayed back and forth violently, nearly shaking his lantern off.

"Oliver…where could you be…?"

The man began to pace, out of habit, accidentally crashing into a door.

"Oof! Owch…Huh?"

The door was not an ordinary door, but an old fashioned elevator door out of ice.

"Elevators…?" He pushed the lattice doors aside and stepped in. His green eyes discovered a dozen numbered buttons near the door with a silver, special switch on the very top.

"Crikey! Does this thing really work?"

"I don't know…but maybe it can take us to Oliver!"

"Oi, that's a good idea! I say we try that floor!" The fairy leaped up, smashing his fist against the silver button. Immediately, the doors slid shut, and the box was pulled upwards, against gravity.

"I'll bet Ollie-boy is up there! Yep, I feel it in my lantern, or I'm not Lord High Lord of the Fairies!"

* * *

"Swaine, how much further is it until we get out of here?"

"Just until I find an exit."

"That could take all night."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya'. Wait-aha! I found our way out of here!"

"R-really?"

"Yeah. Come on."

The man guided Esther a few steps forward and felt her boots step against some different ground.

"Okay, you can look now." Swaine raised his hand from her eyes. Her blue orbs blinked, finding his scruffy face in front of hers.

"You okay?" The intimacy of his face to hers sent her heart beat into fast forward mode.

"Uh-y-yeah!" Flustered, she backed up, accidentally sending her elbow crashing into the wall next to the elevator door.

_Click!_

"Huh?"

Before Esther could make another move, the wire doors behind her slid shut.

"Wh-what's going on?"

"Whoa, easy, Esther-we're in an elevator."

"An elevator?"

Beneath her feet, the tamer felt the cubicle shift into motion, accelerating up.

"Which button did you hit?"

"Um…I think it was that one?"

She pointed at the top button. Unlike the numbered switches below, this one was shinier with a silver snowflake on it with no other indication of its destination.

"Wonder where it goes…"

"…Maybe the room where that voice is keeping Oliver?"

"One way to find out."

The couple stood in silence, anxiously waiting for the elevator to reach its goal. As the elevator rose higher and higher in elevation, the wind outside the castle began to grow stronger, brewing a snowstorm.


	11. Chapter 11: Let it Snow

**Frozen Love**

**Ch 11:** **Let it Snow**

_Cli-click!_

Grinding to a halt, the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. They opened the way into an enormous space with a glacier floating in the air in the center. The walls were lined with tall columns that stretched upward to a domed roof and retreated into an endless abyss. In between every column were empty box spaces meant to serve elevators and a thin bridge of frozen water connecting each of them to the main glacier.

"Wow…this place is huge…" Esther placed her boot against the ice, and then the other.

"Careful, blondie. That ice doesn't look that thick…"

She huffed around. "What's the matter, scared?"

"No, I am not!"

"Then come on!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming."

Swaine gingerly stepped forward as if the ice would crumble at any moment. Slowly applying the rest of his weight and then his other foot, he joined the desert woman.

"See? It's not so bad." She gave the ball of her foot a tap.

"Right. So let's get over there."

However, before they could do that, across the room, another elevator opened its lattice doors, uncovering a familiar fairy and sage.

"Swaine? Esther?" Marcassin asked.

"Marcassin! Drippy!" Esther ran towards them with the thin man right behind her. Marcassin and Drippy did the same in their direction, meeting them in the center of the floating glacier.

"Are you guys alright?"

"Yep, we're fine, lass! What about you two? Did you-ahem-do anything…_interesting?_" The Lord High Lord of the Fairies asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Swaine rolled his dark eyes. "We jumped to a lower floor that turned out to be a living hell and hitched a ride on this elevator. Interesting enough for ya'?"

Drippy's lantern dropped to the floor. "Knickers…I take it that you guys didn't see Ollie-boy, either?"

"Wish we did but nope, no sign of him."

"Think he's here?"

Before the conversation could continue, a chilling updraft flew around them. Everyone braced their limbs against the shove of the air. A low voice echoed though the room.

"Hmph. You pests are like little flies-stubborn, stupid, and exceedingly hard to swat."

Everyone's heads whipped around in the direction of the sound. The wind and snow concentrated into a funnel, gradually forming more recognizable shapes. When the dust had settled, a hovering robe of deep royal blue with white fur cuffs at the sleeves and collar stood in its place. Levitating above it was a crown of ice and sapphire gems with silver edges. However, there was no visible head-just a pair of cobalt blue lights in the presumable shapes of eyes.

"Tell me, what will it take to eradicate you once and for all?"

"I'd say nothing-what about you?" Swaine crossed his arms with a cocked eyebrow.

"Nothing that the likes of you and your fleabag troupe can muster."

"Oi, does it look I'm made of fleas, you-you…" The fairy's voice trailed off. "Come to think of it, what are you, anyway?"

"I," The invisible force began, "am the essence of snow, the soul of ice…I am the very existence of cold itself. Cold, something constantly hated and looked down upon. People have never appreciated my presence, from the chilled air of a momentary breeze to the power and might of a snow storm. I am-"

"Nah, mun, I mean are you a he or she or what?"

"…Beg your pardon?"

"Yeah, I can't make heads or tails about your gender, mun! I mean, your voice sounds like it could go either way and that big robe doesn't help me either."

"There's a monster right in front of us and all you can do is question it's gender?" Swaine could only face palm his forehead as he muttered his words.

"Apparently you're more brainless than I thought. Brainless and heartless…what a petty combination." The fiend of cold sadly shook his head in fake sympathy.

"Enough of this!" Esther shouted. "Where are you keeping Oliver?"

"Why should I be inclined to tell you his whereabouts? All your species has ever done to me is shun me, shove me away where ever you could, never respected me…And your kind has multiplied and bred countless times, teaching the next simpleminded generation the same pattern of despising my company."

"It may be true that humans are not built to flourish in freezing conditions, but that does not justify your actions of plunging our world into the next ice age!" Marcassin thrust his staff towards the being. "I shall not stand by and watch my home suffer like this, under your magic!"

"Then you will have to beat me first in order to save your pathetic world!" Levitating higher in the air, the spirit stretched out its sleeves, and summoned several small spheres of white energy orbiting its body.

"You will have to beat me, Glacifreezus, in a battle!"

At that very moment, the glacier began to rotate, breaking off the several bridges connecting to the elevators. The party of four got into their battle stances, readying their weapons.

"Fine by me! Here we go!"

"Ha! Fancy your chances, do you?"

"Hmph! For honor!"

"Okay, buntin's-let's kick some behind! If this Glaci-whatsit has one!"

A furious vein pulsed on the spirit's invisible head. With a wave of his arm, the balls of energy shot out, dashing towards the humans.

"Whoa!" Esther arched her body effortlessly around the projectiles and pressed her fingers against her chest.

"Gogo, come!"

A squawking Electrongo jumped out of her chest. Twirling his baton of a staff in his wings, he let a jolt of lightening dash out towards the ghost. The electric blades shot their piercing tips into their target.

"Graaaahhh!" Glacifreezus shouted with pain. When the ordeal was over, he gave his crown a shake. "Hmph! Not bad, but why don't you try this on for size?"

A gleaming ball of energy formed in the ghost's right 'hand'. Dozens of others beckoned to its call and floated behind.

"Snowball rain!"

The multiple spheres of snow zipped forward towards the Electrongo.

"Gogo! Return!"

The plump bird leaped back in a rose light, narrowly missing the hard balls of cold. With dull piffs, they smashed into the ground at the tamer's feet.

"Annoying girl…I'll crush you once and for all!"

"Hey! I'm not a girl! I'm nineteen, for your information!"

Glacifreezus's arms rose up, creating more snowballs of destruction. They flew towards her at a blinding speed. She braced for impact, shielding her body with her arms.

_Pat-piff-pat-pat-piff!_

"Aah! Ow! Owch!"

The snowballs were actually spheres of slush and ice. When they crashed into her body, they sent stings of numbness and pain though her skin and up her spine.

"Esther!"

A pair of arms wrapped around her, shielding the rest of the projectiles from her. She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into the chest of her protector.

"Ack, ow! Damnit!"

Her ears recognized the gruff voice. "Swaine?"

"Everyone, stand back!" Marcassin jumped in front of the couple. He illustrated a complex design in the air with his staff. The symbol began to glow a bright orange.

"Flame fan!"

Crackling embers grew into roaring flames and with the wave of the man's hand, the firewall waved a gust of burning wind at the fiend.

Before the heat could reach the target, Glacifreezus vanished from his spot, leaving a mere snowflake behind to melt under the fire's wrath.

"What? Where did it go?"

"Right here, fools!"

The mortals turned on their heels to the voice. Floating in the opposite side of the room was the same invisible spirit with its robe fluttering wildly in the wind of a growing snowstorm.

"Blizzard of Fury!"

Sharp gusts of wind whistled past everyone's body. The force of the snowstorm overpowered the friction between their boots and the ice.

"Wh-whoa!" Esther slid backwards, inching closer to the edge of the floating glacier.

"Oh no- Marcassin, you deal with this creep!"

The emperor anchored his long staff into the ice as he gave his brother a nod.

Meanwhile, Esther's heels were only a foot away from the dark abyss behind her. She fought against the wind the best she could, but was losing ground fast.

"Esther, hang on!"

"Wh-whoaaAAAHHH!"

"_ESTHER!"_

Swaine's hand caught a hold on Esther's wrist, stopping her fall. Below her was an endless drop into darkness. She dangled above the emptiness underneath her heels. Her blue eyes tore away from the dizzying sight to the exthief's scruffy face.

"Esther, whatever you do, do not let go of my hand."

The woman tightened her grip and placed her other hand around his fingers as well. "Never in my wildest dreams."

"Good." His other hand clutched around her wrist. He pulled with all of the strength his arms could muster. His limbs protested against the tamer's weight.

"Uuurrrgh…Damn it, did you gain a hundred pound in the last five minutes or what?"

"If we weren't in a life or death situation, I'd slap you right now."

"Yeah, I hear ya'." He tugged at her arm again until his eyes sparked with an idea.

"Hey, try walking against the wall."

The blonde placed her boots against the ice, pleasantly surprised to find her foot was able to grip against the surface. Carefully taking a step up, she nodded to the man. Using a combination of Swaine's pulling and Esther's 'walking' they hoisted the desert woman back on top of the glacier.

"There…you okay?"

"Mm-hmm."

Just then there was the sound of something slamming on the floor. The couple turned their heads to find Marcassin lying face first on the floor.

"Marcassin!"

Running over to the emperor, they bent down towards his body.

"Marcassin, are you okay?"

He slowly got up. "Ow…I think so…" The sage raised a hand to his eyes, massaging the eyelids. Suddenly he pulled his hand away as if it was on fire.

"W-wait, where's my staff?"

They looked around, catching the sight of the tall stick steadily rolling away, towards the abyss.

"Oh no!"

Sprinting towards his prized wand, Marcassin made a desperate dive for it with an outstretched arm. The wood barely slipped past his delicate fingers. As he crashed on the floor, the Imperial Staff rolled over the edge, out of his sight.

"No!"

"Marcassin, look out!"

The sage jumped up. Where he once was now sat an icicle designed to pierce his chest.

"Oi, that's how you wanna play, 'ey?" Drippy balled his hands into fists. "Well, come at me, mun! Unless youer scared youer gonna wet youer knickers in the process! Ha!"

Glacifreezus gazed at the fairy with sarcastic eyes as he waved a push of icy wind towards him. The fairy was sent rolling backwards like a yelling ball until his rolling came to an abrupt halt.

"Uugh! Augh!" His big pink tongue stuck to the icy floor like glue, muffling his words. The fairy tugged with all of his might, but he was hopelessly rooted to the ground.

"Uugh! Uuahagh!"

"Hmph! I shall deal with that pesky flea later." Glacifreezus's crown rotated to the trio. "Now then, who's next?"

Esther, Swaine, and Marcassin each took slow, cautious steps away. Fear flashed in their eyes as their imaginations ran rampant with horrible death scenarios playing through their heads.

Crossing his armless sleeves on top of the other, Glacifreezus's eyes melted into a bright blue as they squinted in concentration. Just below him ice and snow crept upwards, slowly merging into the build of a frozen canon big enough to shoot out a six foot tall man.

"You heartless beings…your kind shall no longer criticize my existence after tonight!"

"What are you going to do, you monster?!" Swaine shouted with clenched fists. Had he been holding a block of ice, he would have crushed it.

"Before you interrupted my work by _inviting_ yourselves to my castle, I was in the process of giving birth to the greatest snow storm this world has ever known-and ever will know. The entire planet will be covered completely in a blanket of cold snow. Humans have never felt any compassion for my company, so they will suffer in my wrath! Every single human will die, and with it their hatred for me shall die, too!"

"Wait! Not everybody hates the snow!"

"What?! Bah, is that the best excuse you can come up with?" The spirit glared at the blonde with disbelief in his eyes.

"No, I'm serious! Some people may not like the cold but-"

"Humans are all the same. They all share an endless hate towards me!"

"No, that is not true!"

"Enough!" The spirit waved his invisible hand against the air as if he was lighting a match. A blue flickering flame appeared as if from nowhere. "It is time to deal with the three of you permanently with my Snow Blast!"

The blue flame lighted the fuse of snow, sending a spark down to the canon. It began to rapidly spin like a top. The ssssss of the fuse continued to burn closer and closer to the ammunition.

"Round and round she goes; where she stops, nobody knows!" The spirit gave a low chuckle as the fuse inched closer to the dramatic moment of explosion.

"Why you sick-"

_**Boom!**_

The canon had not stopped pointing the trio, but in the opposite direction. As the cannonball of snow flew in the wrong direction, it sent out a reaction force, shoving the canon backwards-straight for a certain lanky man.

_Oh, shit-_

Before Swaine could finish his thought, he was shoved from the side, out of harm's way.

"Ow!" He fell onto the ice. Looking over his shoulder, he saw something that made his heart and brain stop in motion.

Esther, standing with outstretched arms from pushing him. Her blue eyes were wide and gleaming with the start of tears. A split second later, the massive mass of snow crashed into her, right before his eyes.

"NO! ESTHER!"

The canon rolled away and over the edge, into the abyss, just like Marcassin's staff had. All it left behind were tracks from the wheels all over Esther's sprawling figure, lying motionless on the ice.

The man crawled frantically over and took her by the shoulders, propping her head against his shoulder. Her face twitched faintly, slowly regaining consciousness.

"Uugh…S-Swaine?"

"Oh, thank the sages…You're alive." He tightened his grip around her. Esther whined in pain. Shocked the man loosened his arms.

"Esther! Are you okay?"

"I don't know…" A hiss slipped past her lips. "What about you?"

"Who the hell cares about that?! You're-"

"I care."

His voice caught itself in his throat. A shade of pink dusted his cheeks but he shook his head.

"W-well, anyway, can you stand?"

Before she could try to get to her feet, Glacifreezus lowered himself to the ground level, next to the woman. His eyes harbored a peculiar gleam.

"Blast it-that wasn't supposed to happen! It was meant to kill you all with one fell swoop, not just one of you."

"Shut up, you damn-"

"Swaine, wait." Esther's whisper stopped the man mid-curse. She pulled one of her gloves off of her hands and looked at the spirit of cold.

"Glacifreezus…you believe everyone hates the snow, right?"

"Of course. Haven't you been listening to a word I say? Or are you more stupid then you look?"

"And you can cast magic, correct?"

"Eh? Well…yes, obviously."

"Besides snow spells?"

"Yes, why?"

She handed it the glove. "Then cast Insight on this."

"Wh-what?"

"You can cast that spell, can't you? A spell that gives the caster information and memories of an object."

"I know what it does, girl. I'm just questioning why. What good will the memories of an old mitten do for you?"

"No, not just me." The woman slowly sat up more straight. Looking the being in the eye, she said, "You have to see what that glove has witnessed in your snow for everyone's sake. Please, I'm begging you, just take a look!"

"And what will I find?" The spirit asked as his non-existent hand took the pink glove, staring at it as if it was a scientific specimen.

"I'll let you find out for yourself."

As Glacifreezus expected the mitten, Swaine whispered in her ear, "Esther, what are you trying to do?"

"You'll see. Just watch and keep quiet."

As she finished her sentence, the ghost raised the mitten in the air, causing it to glow faintly. The light grew brighter until it blinded everyone's eyes. Esther squeezed her blue eyes shut, waiting for the big moment.

After a second, the brightness faded from behind her eyelids, telling her it was okay to open her eyes. The room of ice they were battling in a moment ago was no more; it its place was a clearing in the middle of a forest with leafless trees. A young woman in a pink coat was pushing a ball of snow with a chubby purple bird.

"Okay, Gogo, help me lift the head!"

The familiar squawked cheerfully, giving the ball a lift with his master's hands on top of a stack of two larger snowballs.

"What…what is this?" The spirit stared at the scene from the past in awe as the other humans regained their bearings.

"Hey…that's you from three days ago!" Swaine's brown eyes flashed with recognition. "When you sneaked out to play in the snow!"

Esther nodded, still looking at the past her. "Yes, and that glove was the very same one I was wearing that day."

Meanwhile, the woman of three days ago finished sticking a pair of sticks in the side of the snowman. She stood back to admire her work.

"Alright, we did it!"

"SQUAWK!"

She whipped around to see Gogo being hit by a snowball.

"Gogo! What hap-ow!"

Another ball smashed into her back. Her eyes scanned the surroundings wearily, preparing a snowball of her own in her hands.

"What exactly is this?" The spirit gazed at the scene, unsure what to make of it.

"A couple of days ago, I went out to play in the snow. And while wearing that very glove you cast insight on."

Glacifreezus looked at the blonde, and then back at the one from the past. A lanky man in green and a younger lad in purple had entered the vision now, conversing with the tamer.

"Anyway, what the heck are you doing out here in the first place?" Swaine questioned the desert woman, who blushed faintly.

"Um, uh, well I…w-went for a short walk! Yeah, for some fresh air!"

"You woke up at about seven in the morning to go for a simple walk and some fresh air? Seems a bit farfetched, if you ask me."

Gazing towards the ground, she kicked some snow. "Um…okay, you caught me; I was playing in the snow. We never have snow back home, and I haven't been in it for ages …I wanted to do all those things kids do in the snow that kids do. Building snowmen, making snow figures in the snow, that sort of thing."

The being of cold widened its eyes, not believing what he was hearing. "Wh-what…? Children…play in the snow?"

"Yes, to a child a snow day is a play day." Marcassin raised his hand up, letting the illusion of the past snow float through his hands. "They don't feel any hate towards it at all. Building igloos, snowmen, making snow figures…they have so much fun in this weather."

Glacifreezus grew silent. However, the vision of the past did not as Esther shouted, "…A snowball fight!" She threw a pair of snowballs at the brothers as the projectiles exploded with dull pows.

"Oof! Hey, no fair! Oh, now you're in for it!"

The taller man stuffed a hand full of snow into his pistol and ran after the blonde. The vision blurred, shifting to the scene of the rest of the snowball fight.

"A…snowball fight?"

"It's a game where you make spheres of snow and throw them at the other person. It's really fun!"

The ghost's eyes never left the visions flashing before his eyes, almost appearing to be ignoring the blonde's words. The spirit of cold witnessed a snowball fight…a toboggan ride...the sight of snow figures in the cold snow…

The sight of three humans actually enjoying themselves in the snow.

The robe began to drift towards the ground like a hot air balloon loosing air.

"Glacifreezus!" Esther carefully got up from Swaine's arms, walked over to the robe, and crouched down to the crown.

"Are…are you okay?"

The 'shoulders' began to shake faintly. Small cubes of ice fell to the ground like tears. "I…I had no idea people actually enjoyed my snow. I had always thought humans hated every moment of my presence, but here…I have seen mortals actually having fun in the cold, without hate." His robe grew even more deflated, as if the body was slowly melting away. "The reason I came to have a 'soul' was out of my hatred as it solidified, but now without it, I shall melt back to what I was."

"W-wait! You don't have to die!"

"I'm not dying, you naïve girl. I'm not technically alive in the first place, so I can't exactly die to begin with." His crown was almost touching the ground as the environment faded away into a soft light. "If it makes you feel any better, I will always be with you with every snowflake that falls down every winter. I am cold, so I am always able to be with all of you no matter how much time passes."

Their surroundings faded into the glacier room they were duking it out just a few minutes before. By this point, the robe and crown were slowly melting back into their original materials-ice and snow.

"Thank you…thank you for clearing the mist from my eyes. I can now exist in peace…with humans…Farewell…and Merry Christmas."

With those final words on its lips, the lights that served as the eyes faded away, and all that was left was a sorry pile of snow and slush.

"…So does this mean we stopped the freezing of the world, or what?" Swaine's hand crept up to his messy hair, ruffling it.

Esther stood up from her spot, wiped her arm over her eyes, and turned around. "…I think so. Yes, we did…we did it!" She screamed with joy and jumped up to the lanky mechanic, wrapping her arms around his neck in a bear hug.

"Whoa!" He nearly topped back, but kept his balance and squeezed his arms around her, too.

"Merry Christmas, babana girl!"

"And Merry Christmas to you, Prince of Swine!"

Laughing, he held her by her waist and spun her around in a circle until his feet slipped on the ice, causing him to fall with Esther right on top of him.

"Oof! Haha! You okay, blondie?"

"Haha, yeah!"

There was then another, strained voice from underneath them. "Ack…can't breathe…"

"Eh? Oh, Marcassin!"

The couple scrambled to get up. The porcine emperor panted heavily for air as he slowly pushed up on his arms.

"You okay, Marcassin?"

"Huff…yes…I just…need to…catch my breath…"

"Hehe, sorry about that…Hey, where's Drippy?"

The trio scanned their surroundings, finding the fairy still stuck to the ice by his pink tongue a couple of meters away.

"Auaugh! Gahagh!"

"Hang on, little guy." Swaine walked over, grabbed the fairy, and gave Drippy a good pull. After the third tug, the ice released Drippy's tongue with a rip.

"Yeowch!" The Lord High Lord of the Fairies quipped with a sore tongue. "Blimey, that wasn't tidy at all, mun! But thanks for youer help."

The man opened his mouth to say something, however he never got the chance as the castle of ice began to shake violently.

"Wh-what the hell is going on?!"

"Is it an earthquake?!"

There was another dramatic tremor as if something very large and heavy was falling towards the ground. Cracks appeared on the domed roof, growing weak. The air vibrated and rumbled, sending shots of panic down everyone's spines.

"…I think the castle is collapsing!"

"What?!" Swaine boomed with a shout dripping with panic. "Then in that case we need to get the heck out of here, pronto!"

"How?!" Esther yelled over the rumble of the air. "There's no way to get back to those elevators! And what about Oliver?"

**BOOM!**

The floating glacier fell victim to gravity's firm grip, sending the party of four down with it.

"Aaaahhh!"

"Whoooaaah!"

"Blimeeeeey!"

"I didn't sign up for thiiiiiisss!"

Between falling chunks of ice and glimmering icicles, the group plunged into the abyss. For a few hair-rising moments, they were engulfed by darkness where light could never penetrate, until they fell through another section of the tower that was lighted by icy candles still clinging to the walls. The falling mortals could barely make out the bottom-an ice hard floor after a two dozen story drop.

"Everyone, brace yourselves!" Marcassin yelled over the commotion while Drippy did somersaults in the air.

"Whoahoahoa-as soon as I stop spinning, mun!"

Esther was about to say something before a pair of wiry arms coiled around her torso and pressed her body against another mass underneath her.

"Esther, hang on!"

"Swaine! What on earth are you doing?!"

"Just shut up and hold on!"

"B-but you're going to get hurt-"

"I know that and I'm prepared for that. I'm gonna get hurt either way, so I might as well get hurt while saving you."

Tears leaked out of her eyes-her friend was sacrificing his own body and life for hers-using himself to cushion her fall.

However, before they reached the ground, they crashed into something else-something with the roar of an engine and accelerated forward.

"Ow! Wh-what the- Esther, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. Wait-"

_**VROOOM!**_

"Hang on everyone!" A red mop of hair yelled as it turned the wheel. The car screeched around a corner and peeved its way around falling stalactites of ice.

"Owch…oh, my head…" Marcassin, who's head had smacked into the dashboard, rubbed his face and turned his gaze to the driver's seat to his left.

"Are you guys alright?" The driver whipped his head into a profile for a brief second, revealing his identity.

"O-O-Oliver!"

"Ollie-boy! Youer all in one piece mun!"

The boy shifted into a different gear. "Yeah. Is everyone else in one piece, too?"

"More like one pile…" Swaine mumbled as he gently pushed Esther off of his chest. She slid into the other seat next to the man.

"What happened to you, Oliver? How did you escape?"

An enormous icicle fell right in front of them and the wizard gave the wheel a sharp twist, dodging the lance of ice.

"I'm sorry, Esther, but I'll have to explain later-right now I have to get you guys out of here!"

His shoe pushed on the gas, accelerating the Philmobile. The car roared past the crumbling castle remains, maneuvering around whatever obstacle stood in its path. Screeching around a sharp corner, the tires rolled onto a half crumbling flight of stairs. The car jerked the occupants up and down wildly.

"Wh-wh-o-o-o-a-a-ah! O-o-l-i-v-v-er-er, b-b-be ca-ca-re-re-ful-l-l!" Marcassin clutched onto the door as if his life depended on it.

Clenching his hands against the wheel, Oliver braced the rest of his body until the tires left the stairs behind.

"W-well, that was a bumpy ride…" Swaine muttered. He suddenly gazed intently up ahead. "Wait…look!"

In the distance and stuck to a candle holder was Marcassin's unmistakable Imperial Staff.

"My staff! Oliver, can you get closer?"

"Sure!"

The car glided nearer to the wall. The sage reached out his arms, ready. As the Philmobile zipped past the candle decoration, Marcassin's hand closed around the elaborate stick.

"Got it!"

"Neato!" Oliver chirped.

"Ah…Ollie-boy?"

"Mr. Drippy?"

"Look out!"

"Huh-jeepers!"

Large pieces of the ceiling with chandilers fell down-too large to drive around.

"Oh, flip, we're gonna crash, mun!"

"Not today!"

Twisting the wheel, the savior steered the car to the right, straight into a window.

_Crash!_

Thin ice shattered around them as they flew through the numb air. The car was sent flying as it descended from a ten story height.

"Aaaaahhh! Swaine, do something!" Esther screamed as she gripped onto his neck like she was watching a horror movie.

"How the hell do you expect me to do anything with you yelling in my ear?! And what can I do, make us sprout wings and fly?"

Marcassin suddenly gasped with raised eyebrows. "Everybody, hold on!" he ordered, and drew a pattern in the air with his staff. After a second it glowed with magic.

"Levitate!"

Just before the car touched the ground, it began to slow down in midair, and hovered over the ice. The passengers held their breaths for a moment before they all let out relieved sighs.

"That was too close." Swaine wiped his brow of imaginary sweat while his heart attempted to recover from thumping a mile a minute in his chest. Drippy did the same, nearly falling off of the car.

"You can say that again, mun. I nearly wet me knickers!"

"…Okay, too much information."

"Oh, shut it, you ol' crank- I'll bet youer knickers are soaked from all the excitement!"

"Hey, leave my underwear out of his!"

The men were about to break out into a full blow argument but the sound of laughter rang through the air. The blonde woman bent over, holding her stomach from all the laughing.

"Hahahaha!"

"Eh? What's so funny?"

"Haha…I-I'm so glad we're alright and saved Christmas-haha-and just two seconds after we zipped out of a life-or-death situation, you're already back to normal!"

"Speaking of Christmas…" Oliver began, "I wonder how everybody's doing. I know it's past midnight, but do you think they're okay or already celebrating?"

Swaine let out a long yawn. "Beats me, but I say we make a beeline for the nearest Cat's Cradle and rest up for the holiday. No point in celebrating without some shut-eye."

Esther yawned as well with sleepy eyes-she was suddenly aware how fatigue crept through her limbs. "I'm a little sleepy, too…"

"Okay…I'll drive us to…_yawn_…" Oliver mumbled with sleep creeping into his body as well. A pale hand rested on the savior's shoulder.

"Leave it to me, Oliver."

"But Marcassin, you don't know how to drive…do you?"

"No, but I have an idea…" He raised his staff again, this time drawing a different symbol.

"Puppet Strings!"

The car stopped floating and landed smoothly onto the ice. Purring softly, the engine vibrated all on its own. The front wheels swiveled left and right as if being tested.

"I think this will work. I can't drive, but I can use magic-hm?" The sage's words came too late-the boy's head bobbed down, asleep. Marcassin smiled and controlled the car to steadily roll forward. Behind him, Esther had fallen asleep against Swaine's shoulder while the lithe man's head lolled on top of the crown of her head, far away into dreamland.

* * *

"Swaine, wake up!"

"Zzzzz…five more minutes…"

"No, Swaine, it's time to get up!"

"Zzzz…come on, it's Saturday…"

"And Christmas afternoon. Wake up already!"

This time Swaine did open his eyes. They focused on Esther's face hanging above him with her blue eyes.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!"

"Haha, very funny." He sat up at a snail's pace and swung his legs to the floor. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Two in the afternoon. Did you sleep well?"

"Yep, like a log." The skinny man stretched his entire body, feeling his joints flex and wake up. Just then he realized his surroundings-an inn room made of ice and in the style of Yule homes.

"So we ended up in Yule, 'ey?"

"Marcassin said this was the closest place he could get to." She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him out of his room. "Now come on! We have to say good-bye to Oliver!"

"Oi? Oh yeah…Wait, shouldn't we put on our coats first?"

"Huh? But we're already wearing them!"

The man looked down-sure enough, they were still in their winter clothes from the day before.

"We were fast asleep, and Marcassin said he didn't want to wake us up to take them off."

"Ah…"

Esther shoved open the chilly door with her other arm, walking into the world of lightly falling snow. Snow children built snowmen while others made snow figures in the ground. The beautiful Christmas decorations shone merrily in the illuminations of the Northern Lights.

"Come on, this way." Esther guided Swaine to the clearing in the village where Cerboreas's igloo once stood. Oliver stood in the center as tomtes and snowfolk chatted away with him. Nivo, still wearing his blue vest, handed the boy a large bouquet of Blizzard Blooms.

"These are for you as thank you. I hope your lady friend enjoys the flowers!"

"Wow, thank you! They're great! I'm sure she'll love them!"

"Oliver!" Esther called out. The boy waved with his free arm that held his wand, Astra.

"Hey, Swaine! Merry Christmas!"

"Yeah, Merry Christmas to you, too." He looked around. "Hey, where's pretty boy?"

Just as these words passed his lips, he caught sight of Marcassin walking through the gates with Cerboreas at his side and Drippy on his shoulder. The majestic wolf was leaning slightly on the sage's petite figure.

"Cerboreas! Marcassin!" The three jogged up to the other three.

"Oi, Ollie-boy! We were just giving mutt face here a walk."

"Yes, although his wounds are mostly healed, he still needs to be careful." Marcassin stroked the beast's white fur as the fairy hopped down on the snow.

"So…ah…you got everything you need, buntin'?" Drippy asked as Oliver nodded his head.

"Uh-huh, I think so."

"Good! Ah…so, I…I guess this is good bye."

"Yeah…"

An uncomfortable silence settled in the cold air as no one was sure what to say or do…until Esther broke the silence with her voice.

"When you get back, be sure to treat my soul mate right, okay?" She flashed a teasing grin.

"Hey, next time you come around, we'll go someplace even _more_ dangerous! For old time's sake!" Swaine ruffled the savior's hair with his wiry fingers.

"Thank you again for saving our world, Oliver. Without you, our world would have plunged into the greatest ice age." Marcassin patted him on the back. The boy nodded his head side to side.

"No…I didn't save the world."

"What?! Did you hit youer head or something, buntin'?" Drippy questioned with confusion.

"No, my head's fine! I didn't save the world…we all did, together." Oliver gestured to the people standing around him. "_We _saved the world!"

"Oi? Aw, shucks, Ollie-boy…It was nothin'!"

Swaine's eyebrow went up an inch. "Well, of course it was nothing for you. What did you do to save the world? I distinctively remember you being occupied licking the ice while Esther dealt with that spirit-guy."

"Hey, I was stuck, mun! I couldn't help it my tongue was extra sticky back there!" The fairy blew a raspberry with his pink tongue. Rolling his dark eyes, the man kicked the round fairy away, sending Drippy on a roll towards a pile of snow.

Oliver laughed. "While I'm gone, try not to kill each other, okay?"

"Alright, Oliver, we'll just maim each other up instead."

"Swaine!" Esther shot him a glare while he backed up a foot.

"What? I was kidding!"

Before they could break out in their usual bickering, a blue light suddenly formed in front of their eyes. It grew into columns of blue light and an elaborate passageway with a green staircase and tall columns. Gateway, the spell connecting two worlds together with a wave of a wizard's wand.

"Good-bye, everyone! Thank you for all of your help!" Oliver waved his arm above his head.

"Farewell, Oliver!"

"Later, Ollie-boy!"

"Good bye!"

"See ya', Oliver!"

Staring at his friends a moment longer, the savior turned around, walked up the stairs, and dove into the bright light of the gate, back to his home. A minute later the elaborate spell wore off and melted back into air, leaving only a few dying sparkles on the wind.

"…Well, what are we standing around for? It's Christmas! We should be celebrating, muns!" Drippy twirled in a pirouette joyfully. "Look lively, everybody, and make merry!"

The tomtes and Eskimo people cheered happily. Even Cerboreas howled gleefully, sending the infectious Christmas spirit through the atmosphere. Everyone dispersed in the crowds-or almost; Drippy gave the exthief a tug on his pants.

"Oi, mun, I've got something for ya'." He gestured the man to come closer.

"What, a last minute Christmas gift? Oh, joy, this ought to be good…" Swaine muttered sarcastically as he bent over his knees.

"Nah, mun, I think you'll like this." Peeking over his small shoulder to make sure no one was paying too much attention to them, he reached into his turquoise coat and pulled out a small green plant with white berries.

The scruffy man choked on his words. "Th-that's-that's-what are you trying to pull?"

"What's the matter? Haven't ya' ever seen a mistletoe?" Drippy jiggled the harmless plant in his hand. "Relax, it's not gonna bite you."

"Of course I know what it is, stupid. I told you not to mention what happened last night or else-"

"Hold on, mun-you never said I couldn't give you some romantic advice, now, did you? And if I were you," He said while stuffing the plant into the man's pocket. "I'd make a move while you still have the chance. I mean, she's gonna go back to Al Mamoon to her dad soon and you and Marcy will have to high-tail it back to Hamelin." The fairy patted Swaine's knee. "I'd go and tie up any loose ends you may have with the lass before it's too late-and that mistletoe may come in handy."

"Wait…Where is blondie, anyway?" Swaine looked around.

"That's up to you to find out!" Grinning, the fairy bid the man farewell. "Catch you later, lover boy!"

"H-hey!"

* * *

Gentle notes floated up from Esther's harp as she plucked at the delicate strings. She sat against a tall evergreen tree just outside the village with a faraway look in her eyes. She was in the zone, a mode where she could peacefully think and fantasize in her mind.

The sound of feet crunching against the snow shook her back to reality. Blinking a few times, she saw a familiar lanky man running up the hill to her tree.

"H-hey! Esther!"

"Oh, Swaine!" The tamer placed her harp to her side and stood up as he approached her. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. I came looking for you!"

"O-oh! Um…I just wanted to go for a walk…? No, that excuse is getting old…"

The man shook his head, ignoring her ramblings. "Bah, forget the excuses."

Esther blinked, not sure what to say. "Swaine…Is something wro-"

"When are you going back home?"

"Oh? Um, in a couple of hours, I guess…What about you?"

Swaine awkwardly scratched his hair. "Beat's me. Anyway…um…Esther…?"

"Y-yes?" She stepped towards him, anxious for his reply.

"Er…w-would you…uh…" "_Damn it, this is harder than I thought… Just spit it out, you idiot! Pull yourself together!"_

"Are you okay…?"

"Esther, after everything gets back to normal, would you-you…_gulp_…like to…maybe…" He kicked a small lump of snow before finishing his sentence with the most important phrase of the sentence.

"…go out sometime?"

The blonde blushed. "Y-you mean…dating?"

"Y-yeah, dating. You and me. That sort of thing…" Swaine's hand was completely absorbed in his scruffy hair at this point. It suddenly slipped out as Esther tackled him with a bear hug around his neck, nearly sending them falling to the ground.

"Of course, you idiot!"

He was stone still for a second before his arms wrapped around her, too. The woman pulled away and before he could say anything, his mouth was covered with the woman's lips. He leaned into the kiss until he remembered what the fairy had stashed away in his pocket. His right hand slipped like a snake down into his pocket, curled around the plant, and raised it over their heads.

A minute later their heads moved slowly away. As the woman's eyes fluttered open, she noticed the man's hand holding something green and white over them.

"W-wait…isn't that mistletoe?"

"It was the fairy's idea." He shrugged. "I-I just thought…well…"

A mischievous grin bloomed on Esther's face. "Well, in that case…" She swiftly got a hold on the collar of his coat and jerked his head closer, erasing the distance between them with a more passionate smooch. A soft moan escaped his throat as he pulled her closer with one arm and holding the magic kissing plant above their heads with the other.

"Merry Christmas, babana girl."

"Happy holidays, idiot."

* * *

**That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed this holiday fic and have a happy holiday! Thank you all so much for your support and reviews. It was like a Christmas gift every time ;)**


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